Vetch’s Beach is being systematically smothered to death by the eThekwini Municipality, says Johnny Vassilaros.
Durban - The ridiculous comments from the city’s coastal engineering manager, Godfrey Vella, regarding the “black muck” pumped on Durban’s beaches ( “Black muck’ beach mystery”), cannot go unchallenged.
He claims that the sand slurry looks dirty while being pumped, but changes to the same colour as the surrounding sand afterwards. Mr Vella, we all know that the black muck is dirty polluted harbour silt from the dredger’s bilges which does not magically turn into clean sand once it is pumped on to our beaches.
What concerns me more is the excessive sand pumping on Vetch’s Beach and the systematic destruction of the marine life on Vetch’s Pier. We fully understand the predicament Vella is in and the problems he faces with the unavailability of a dredger from time to time and the lack of the hopper station, currently under construction.
We are also aware that sand cannot be pumped to the northern beaches, though the need of that is also contentious, until the new hopper station is commissioned. The result, however, is that Vella has been pumping sand on to Vetch’s Beach and relying on the littoral drift to transport it northwards.
During this process, Vetch’s Pier is being systematically smothered to death without any concern shown by Vella.
As a youngster I recall crayfish, octopus and a myriad other marine organisms living in those mussel and red-bait infested rocks barely 5m from the beach in knee-deep water. Today, that section is devoid of any form of marine life on the first 100 metres. (See photo.)
In past years, the level of the beach was far lower and there was never any threat of flooding to any of the clubs. The current level of the beach is the highest it has ever been and still Vella keeps pumping sand on to it.
We do recognise the need to maintain Durban’s beaches, but this thoughtless and inconsiderate practice needs to be reconsidered. We call upon the environmental department of our municipality to become involved in managing the sand pumping, not someone who knows nothing and cares nothing for the well-being of this valuable public asset.
In 2007 when construction of the new North Pier began, they dumped tons of rubble on its base, which has over the years leached on to the shoreline making launching of boats difficult and spoiling the beach.
After the old hopper station was demolished a pipe was laid on the beach to feed sand when required. When Vella laid it, he should have buried it a little higher up the beach.
Instead he just plonked it on top of the beach and raised the level by pumping more sand over it. Now as the sea creeps in and exposes the pipe, he has to protect it by pumping more sand to maintain this high level. Our view is that they first need to remove the rubble and replace it with clean sand as we had years ago. Until that is done, there will always be a need to cover the rubble, thus maintaining the high level of beach we have today. The problem thus, will remain and at a huge cost to the ratepayer.
Vella also stated that he “informed most of the clubs” of his intentions to pump sand last week. But he never had the decency to timeously inform the Durban Paddle Ski Club, to which access to the sea he fenced off. We have become accustomed to such treatment from Vella, as over the years he has blocked our access, broken our slipway and damaged our small parking area on numerous occasions, without ever apologising or offering to repair the damage estimated at tens of thousands of rand.
The Save Vetch’s Association and the Durban Paddle Ski Club have fought tooth and nail to save Vetch’s Pier and the beach from certain destruction from the proposed small craft harbour, now shelved, at a huge cost, which we believe was worth every cent and we are extremely proud of this achievement.
It is sad that after all that effort, our own municipality is solely responsible for the deliberate and systematic destruction of this reef, which once hosted over 85 tons of mussels and which had been declared a marine reserve for many years. It is time for our city fathers to wake up and show us they are not just paying lip service when it comes to protecting our city’s fragile coastline.
We believe that with careful thought and expert advice, which the city has at its disposal, and the completion of the sand storage hopper, a management plan can be devised in which controlled pumping can maintain our beaches without destroying more marine life.
Johnny Vassilaros
Chairman Durban Paddle Ski Club and Save Vetch’s Association
* The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.
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