Our beaches are open
Pressure is now on the coast's municipalities to keep beaches open and taps running.
So far, South Coast beaches from Hibberdene to Port Edward are open. It will be the first ‘real’ December holidays without any Covid-19 restrictions since 2019.
All eyes will be on the state of our beaches, as well as our water supply. Both are critical to ensure a solid holiday season and to begin to rebuild local tourism and the economy.
Interest in the beaches, in particular, comes on the back of a report in the Sunday Times about independent tests revealing that popular Durban beaches were showing alarming levels of E.coli.
This is not good news for the city’s tourism sector and the article reported that accommodation bookings were slow.
The Sunday Times further quoted Duncan Heafield of Umhlanga Tourism Association saying that they are expecting a loss of R25-million a day in the peak season from November 28 onwards.
With this in mind, KZN South Coast needs to keep its beaches free of ‘poo’ so it can have a bumper holiday season.
Ugu District Municipality acting spokesperson, Mondli Ngcobo, said E.coli counts on the beaches are monitored regularly.
“The latest samples taken on all bathing beaches along the coast were within the prescribed minimum levels of less than or equal to 500 E.coli (count per 100ml), according to the South African Water Quality Guidelines for Coastal Marine Waters: Volume 2 – Guidelines for Recreational Use,” he explained.
However, he said lagoons and rivers are not recommended for contact recreational use as E.coli counts of rivers and lagoons fluctuate.
“This can be attributed to surface run off water due to erratic rainfall patterns in the district.”
Ngcobo stressed that environmental health services continue to monitor E.coli counts of the beaches and communicates accordingly with the local municipality and other stakeholders, to ensure that the health of the community is safeguarded.
Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise, said with summer approaching, many are finalising their holiday plans.
“We’re already seeing a lot of interest in the South Coast, particularly as all our beaches are open with six (Marina, Trafalgar, Southport, Umzumbe, Ramsgate and Hibberdene) retaining Blue Flag Status and another five gaining pilot Blue Flag status,” she said.
“With the sunny, summer skies and beaches open and ready to welcome visitors, the coast is summer ready. Those looking for great nightlife, sporting adventures, and a bit of relaxation, then it’s time to head to the region’s ‘Fun Capital’, Margate.”
Questions were directed to Ray Nkonyeni Municipality regarding the closure and hoped-for reopening of Margate Olympic pool (since April), as well as whether broken walkways along Margate main beach and certain ablution blocks needing maintenance would be repaired before season. No response was received before going to press.
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