The eThekwini Municipality has issued a warning to all residents, to refrain from drinking, swimming or fishing in rivers on the South Coast due to sewage contamination.

Mohammed Dildar from the municipality’s water and sanitation unit says a sewage spill from damaged sewer pipes has contaminated the rivers as well as the two estuaries.

“We had some problems in the south of the city. A sewer trunk washed away, which affected the Mbokodweni River and the Isipingo River. We also had an act of vandalism which has damaged the sewer that has affected the Isipingo estuary,” he said.

The municipality acknowledged the danger the water now presents, in a statement released to the media. “The state of the water means that there may be a health risk should members of the community use or be exposed to the river water at this point.”

The statement went on to say that the City is undertaking emergency repairs on the damaged pipes and that the warning will remain in place until further notice.

A year of poo problems

This year the eThekwini municipality has had to face countless problems with sewage spills contaminating its rivers.

Earlier this year reports on the death of thousands of fish in South Durban, following the contamination of the Isipingo River and Estuary, as a result of factory discharges, made headlines.

In August a malfunctioning pump at a sewage substation in the RDP settlement of Waterloo caused a large volume of raw sewage to flow into the uMhlanga River, spreading to the lagoon, the upmarket Mount Edgecombe Estate also experienced a sewage spill in the same month just days before.

There have also been several large sewage spills at eManzimtoti, with residents complaining about pollution levels and raw sewage flowing into the aManzimtoti and Little aManzimtoti rivers.