Big stink chases patrons away in Amanzimtoti
Raw sewage continues to flood into the lagoon and ocean in Amanzimtoti, causing an awful smell that has been bad for business.
THE owner of an establishment on Beach Road in Amanzimtoti said he has tried everything to get the eThekwini Municipality to attend to raw sewage that flows through his premises into the Amanzimtoti River lagoon and then into the ocean.
ALSO READ: Amanzimtoti River heavily polluted with raw sewage, plastic and litter
As a result, Ollie’s Pub and Grill is losing patrons because of the strong odour. The restaurant’s Riaan Groenewald said he has hit a brick wall every time he tries to get the matter resolved.
“I have lodged a number of reports, and no one from eThekwini Municipality seems to care. This is a health as well as an environmental issue. We have been losing customers because who would want to come eat and drink in a place that smells like this?” said Riaan.
eThekwini declared the beach of Amanzimtoti safe to swim in a few weeks ago after tests indicated that E. coli levels had dropped even though thousands of litres of sewage continue to empty into the ocean. Swimming had been prohibited since the floods occurred in April as the damaged sanitation infrastructure meant untreated sewage was flowing into the rivers and the ocean.
JJ de Kock, Ollie’s Pub and Grill’s manager, said to even get the municipality to pick up litter that makes its way into the lagoon has been an uphill battle.
“The lagoon is a total mess. From rubbish to sewage, it seems we can’t get our municipality to do anything. I have had to pay people to pick up litter in the lagoon, which is something that the municipality should be doing. I spoke to one eThekwini supervisor, and the answer I got from her was that it was not her responsibility to pick up papers and plastic in the lagoon,” said De Kock.
He echoed Groenewald’s sentiments that the filth and smell are the reasons why customer numbers are dwindling. On the other side of the Amanzimtoti train station, a canal that runs parallel to Andrew Zondo Road also dumps thousands of litres of raw sewage and hazardous effluent into the lagoon on a daily basis.
The heavy, sickening stench from the canal permeates the air as one stands in the CBD, and the problem has been going on for months.
Questions sent to eThekwini spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, had not been replied to at the time of going to press, but Ward 97 Councillor André Beetge said about 50% of the city’s sewerage infrastructure was damaged by the floods.
“While replacement equipment is on order, attempts are being made to secure the same equipment on loan from a third party to clean the sumps. This will, in turn, address and eliminate the outfall into the canal and ultimately into the Amanzimtoti River and ocean. Exact timeframes were not available at the time of going to press, but the matter is considered extremely urgent,” said Beetge.
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