Durban - The Ugu District Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast has temporarily closed two popular beaches after a sewage spill.
The municipality advised beachgoers and residents that no recreational activities were permitted at Margate beach and Lagoon beach.
According to the municipality, there was a faulty pump at one of its Waste Water Treatment Works, possibly at Nkongweni River.
It said that this led to sewage flowing on to Margate beach. It said the Lagoon beach was also affected and had to be closed.
“As a result, it is recommended that the Margate beach be closed for recreation purposes as a precautionary measure to prevent any health-related illnesses,” said Mondli Ngcobo, the municipality’s acting senior mayoralty and communications manager.
Ngcobo said a contractor were dispatched to fix the faulty pump.
He said that the beaches would remain closed until the repairs to the pump were completed and periodic sampling was carried out.
Ngcobo added that the public would be informed about the opening of both Margate and Lagoon beaches
The DA’s constituency head for the Ugu District and KZN MPL Dr Rishigen Viranna said the closure of the beaches raised serious concerns for the area’s tourism industry.
Viranna said this was not the first sewage spill.
“These spills have been ongoing for the past five years and has affected all the beaches along the South Coast."
Viranna said that the party has laid more than three criminal charges against the municipality regarding the Water Management Act, and the charges were being investigated by the Environmental Management Inspectorate.
He said that the sewage spills, together with the ongoing water crises in the district, had hampered the coast’s tourism industry, which had also been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions.
The Mercury