ALTHOUGH it seems the cause of the recent fish deaths along the Winkle Beach River has been identified and resolved, eThekwini Municipality says it is still conducting an investigating into the matter.
On Sunday, February 27, Amanzimtoti resident, Tamlyne Hartwanger said, “There seems to be a very big problem right now at the small river at Winkle Beach, the smell is horrendous and there are dead fish everywhere.
I am extremely worried about the birds that are now drinking the water and eating the dead fish.”
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Another resident, Bianca Bogaard, went on to say, “We were also at Winkle Beach and I noticed a no swimming sign. I spoke to one of the life guards and he said the beach was closed because of all the raw sewage coming from that little river.
He did report to the life guards office, but was told the municipality don’t work weekends so it would be dealt with on Monday.”
A video indicated the extent of the sewerage flooding at a pump station. “A pipe broke off in the drywell at Kingsway 2 pump station on the weekend causing the drywell to flood. Old South Coast Road (which pumps into Kingsway 2) was also put offline, with tankers working around the clock to disperse waste.
Over the weekend there were various pumps and tankers at the pump station in an attempt to drain the flooded drywell, so that the valves can be isolated. On Monday morning a replacement pump was secured in Richards Bay to assist with the effort.
A welding crew and artisans were placed and ready to start the repair work as soon as the incoming flow was isolated. Following arrival of the replacement pump the drywell was drained by 22:30 and welding commenced rendering the pump station fully functional on auto at 01:35 on Tuesday.
A crew was also dispatched on Monday morning to disperse dead fish in the Winklespruit river mouth,” said ward 97 councillor, André Beetge.
“The city is aware of this incident. However, we are currently conducting an investigation to ascertain the cause of the death of these aquatic species. We would like to state categorically that protecting environment is very high on our agenda hence if there are incidents of this nature, we move with speed to attend to them.
Once we have finalised our investigation, we will communicate its outcomes,” said eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela.
“Its the normal story with all these rivers. A small article goes into the Sun and nothing ever gets put into place to prevent it. Happens over and over again. Chemicals, sewerage, you name it. I have reported it only to get a call six months later to say someone is looking into it,” said Amanzimtoti resident, Maxine Dawn Carter.
On Tuesday, March 8, a week after reports first came in, Amanzimtoti resident, Avril Roy, said she could still see and smell sewerage in the Winkle Beach River and was concerned about the health of the birds that nest along the river.
And on Wednesday, March 9, Amanzimtoti resident, Carol Lane said, “sewerage water together with aroma is flowing down the big black pipe into the river at Baggies Beach.”
“It is a new problem, it’s occurring at several pump stations as a result of the system tripping with loadshedding. Where people observe this, they should rather report it to the municipality so it can be attended to, as opposed to only bringing it to the attention of the media,” said Beetge.
Amanzimtoti resident, Dale Clendennon, recommended the My Smart City app. “It is a new platform apparently independently funded and deals with the municipality directly to help citizens get these type of issues urgently addressed.
Have a look at their website or download the free app to be able to report these serious matters and give citizens more of a voice.”
eThekwini Municipality had not provided an update on the investigation at the time of going to press.
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