Fears for wildlife after leak of raw sewage into river

MORE than a week after residents complained about raw sewage flowing down the Umdloti River towards a popular tourist beach, the eThekwini municipality says it is not certain about the source of the pollution.

Last week Mount Moreland residents said the smell of the sewage was “unbearable” and that the river had turned black, with foam floating on the surface.

They said the pollution was clearly visible from a district road leading to the Mount Moreland Conservancy.

In an e-mail addressed to Water Affairs department officials, resident Danie Rademeyer said he was concerned that pollution was harming river and bird life in the conservancy, also home to millions of barn swallows.

“This is a… habitat for several species of a huge variety of wildlife such as frogs, water monitors, nyala, geese, fish eagles, hammerhead, etc.

“The pollution was noticed about 5km upstream from the Umdloti River Mouth, an estuary with several bird species. This area is being used by the kite surfers for recreational purposes and the pollution will also contaminate the prestigious Umdloti Beach.”

Rademeyer said he suspected the source was a local sewage water treatment plant.

However, officials in the eThekwini water and waste department said yesterday they could not comment on the source of the problem.

“We are investigating issue…”

Local councillors Geoff Pullan and Rory Macpherson want city officials to investigate.

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