INLSA

FILE PICTURE: DURBAN: 140910 The Bluff Engen refinery has experienced some power failers tonight causing flairing which scared residents who thought it was on fire. PICTURE: GCINA DWALANE

The eThekwini municipality has come under fire for failing to trace the source of a large stream of dark liquid which stained the sea next to the Bluff to such an extent that it was visible from the sky.

Responding to queries from The Mercury, a spokesman for the municipality’s pollution department said that water samples collected from the mouth of the Umlaas canal on January 27 did not appear to be toxic, and that the source of the pollution could not be found.

However, South Durban environmental activist Desmond D’Sa said he was astonished that a municipality with highly qualified staff seemed unable to trace the source of the pollution, especially when there had been repeated cases of similar pollution at Cuttings beach over several years.

Last week, pollution department spokesman Chris Fennemore confirmed that officials had collected water samples for laboratory analysis on Friday afternoon.

In a statement at the weekend, Fennemore said it appeared that the pollution problem had “pretty much cleared” by the time the samples were taken.

“The water was shown not to be toxic. The results indicated that the water sampled did not present any threat to public health. The source could not be ascertained.”

However, D’Sa called for a more thorough investigation into the incident.

List

“If eThekwini cannot find a solution to these problems, then they will continue indefinitely.

“It seems to us that either the municipality knows who the culprit is but won’t reveal their identity, or that they are not doing the job properly.”

According to D’Sa, members of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance have a long list of dates and times of similar pollution problems in the vicinity of Cuttings beach.

These included at least six cases in 2010, three cases in 2011 and two cases last year involving dark blue or black dye problems.