Durban beaches looking south from uMhlanga. Picture: eThekwini Municipality
Durban — Stop bashing Durban, the municipality warned journalists this week after 11 of its 23 beaches were closed to the public because of high E coli levels.
It said most regular tests to determine water safety had come back as “excellent” and “acceptable” since it had partnered with independent laboratories in October, but the media failed to acknowledge the good results and instead highlighted the few bad ones.
The latest sampling of bathing and non-bathing beaches was done in conjunction with the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at the Durban University of Technology.
Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the safety of residents and visitors was always top priority, which is why the beaches were closed as soon as the results of the tests were available.
“The city then begins the process of resampling to ensure that the first results are comparable with the second results.
“This sampling is the same process that has always been implemented, even during the application of Blue Flag status beaches before last year’s April flood disasters,” she said. The 11 beaches were closed and visitors were not allowed to swim or even walk on them.
“It is common to have poor water quality when heavy rains continue to batter the city. This results in pollution, including foreign objects, washing from rivers and streams as well as other water sources into the ocean,” said Sisilana.
She said despite a limited budget, the municipality had worked extremely hard to fix damaged infrastructure and the recently approved municipal disaster grant funding of R1.6 billion would fast-track infrastructure repairs.
Earlier this month, before the announcement of the beach closures, Adopt a River and Talbot – The Art of Water – released a joint statement saying: “While we acknowledge the positive strides in managing the sewage plants and inflow of E coli we would like to emphasise that we cannot make a blanket statement asserting the safety of beaches for swimming purposes.
“It is essential to consider various factors; rainfall patterns, currents, tides, load shedding schedules and proximity of beaches to river mouths and outfalls.
“We urge the public to stay informed by asking for current results and being cautious after heavy rainfall.”
Tourism bodies said Durban was open for business as usual, but they warned that small businesses faced potential ruin if the city did not resolve its ongoing infrastructure challenges which resulted in the high E coli levels.
The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) and inbound tourism body the Southern African Tourism Services Association (Satsa) said that until the city addressed the water crisis, many small businesses could experience lower profits, potential closure and lay-offs this season.
Fedhasa’s East Coast chairperson, Brett Tungay, said they could not afford to miss the economic opportunities which traditionally came with the festive season.
“Closing prime tourism beaches now deals a huge blow to the hospitality businesses and tourism operators in prime beach areas. It comes at a time when they rely on the influx of tourists to bolster their businesses. The closure of these beaches sends ripples throughout our broader economy, affecting jobs and local communities.”
Tungay said since the “catastrophic” floods in April last year the region had been plagued by water contamination issues, but before that five beaches in the city held Blue Flag status.
Satsa CEO David Frost urged the city to address its sewage infrastructure issues so businesses did not lose out during the holiday season.
“We ask the eThekwini Municipality to provide clarity and assurances on sampling schedules and reopening timelines. This must be treated as a critical priority. Tourism is a key economic driver.”
Tungay and Frost asked that the municipality provide regular updates on its work to address the water quality crisis and infrastructure repairs.
The uMhlanga Tourism Office said it was heartbreaking that some beaches were closed at the most crucial time for the industry.
Chairperson Jeannie Sarno said: “We have worked around the clock to promote coastal destinations and to have all our hard work just shattered with the closing of beaches is disastrous for all of us in the industry.
“There are many other attractions one could enjoy in our beautiful province, but locals travelling to the coast want to enjoy a ‘batheable’ beach.”
Sarno said they were fortunate that the uMhlanga beaches were still open because the uMhlanga Summer Festival was under way and it would have been disastrous if one of their beaches closed.
The municipality said that earlier this week hotel bookings were looking positive, with occupancy of up to 75%, which was expected to increase later this month.
“This is indicative that Durban remains a preferred tourist destination despite the recent calamities such as Covid-19, the July unrest and the flood disasters,” Sisilana said.
Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma said several beaches remained open, including those in uMhlanga and eMdloti and further south in eManzimtoti. “But I need to emphasise that KZN has more than 600km of coastline to explore, starting from Sodwana Bay right down to Port Edward,” said Duma.
He said the province had several Blue Flag beaches, which included four pilot Blue Flag beaches on the North Coast – Thompson’s Bay, Willard, Blythedale and Salt Rock – and five on the South Coast – Marina Trafalgar, Southport, uMzumbe, Ramsgate and Hibberdene.
Duma said KZN was a destination that had it all; culture, adventure, safari, nightlife and romance.
“We are encouraging holidaymakers to explore a mixture of tourism experiences to create unforgettable memories this summer.”
Independent on Saturday