SCORES of fish were killed, boats damaged and water quality compromised once again in the Durban Harbour as an upstream oil spill flooded the waterway on Sunday, 30 November.
The oil flowed downstream from the infamous canal that passes under Solomon Mahlangu Drive. The source of the spill is unknown, but an ineffective weir on the canal allowed the oil to flow unabated. “We have been fighting about that weir for years and it still doesn’t function as it should. This spill has killed fish and caused massive damage to the harbour. More needs to be done to stop the flow of rubbish into the harbour. This is an ongoing problem and there is always human waste, rubbish and other unsanitary items flowing down these canals. Something needs to be done,” said former Bluff Ratepayers Association chairman, Ivor Aylward.
Yacht owners from Bluff Yacht Club are furious, as this is not the first time this year they have been forced to fork out money to clean and repair their boats after spills. Hundreds of bags were filled with the thick sludge along with other detritus that flowed downstream and, more than 24 hours after the spill, the cleaning company was still hard at work. Fish could be seen collecting in large schools in areas that were less contaminated and a crab scuttling across the ground had oil coating its back.
Further upstream in the canal, there are small signs of the spill, but is not possible to determine its origin. “This is unacceptable. How many more spills like this do we have to have before something is done? Our harbour is in a terrible state – action must be taken against companies that dump effluent in the canals and it must be done before it is too late,” said Aylward.
