Durban's Umhlanga beach closed in wake of sewage spill

A sewage spill in the plush Durban suburb of Umhlanga has forced the closure of all its beaches. The Ethekwini Municipality shut the beaches on Wednesday, 21 February, after a pipe burst, spilling sewage into the water and the promenade, popular with locals and tourists.

The Umhlanga Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP) posted an alert on social media platforms to inform residents that "the municipality has issued a full closure of all Umhlanga beaches due to a burst sewer pipe. The waste water and coastal engineering departments are on site attending to the problem as quickly as possible but note it is a significant pipe that has been affected".

Cara Reilly, a UIP spokesperson, told TimesLIVE that the sewage posed a "health hazard" to bathers.

"That was a preventative measure obviously. It's not ideal at all. There may be a break or a burst on the main sewer line.

"The sewage has to drain out first before they can establish what is wrong with it.

"This could be simply a fault, whether it's a brand new pipe or not. There are myriad people waiting for the pipe to drain out completely to fix it.

"Everyone is very upset about the whole thing."

Reilly said the timeframe for the repair of the pipe "was a challenge".

"We have no idea whether this is a repair job that requires them to go through the vegetation or whether the promenade has to be dug up. We are waiting for updates," said Reilly.

Source: The Times