Durban - The source of a nauseating stench emanating from the uMbilo River in Pinetown has been found.
Since Friday, raw sewage had been flowing down the river from a broken pipe upstream.
Johan Jooste said he had been living next to the river for nearly 32 years. On Friday, the area had a nauseating smell, prompting him to inspect the river.
“The colour of the water was certainly not right. We had visitors over and the stench was unbearable. On many occasions factories upstream pollute the river. You would find it foamy or (with)a change of colour,” Jooste said. His wife Jo said her children had often played in the river when they were young, and city officials would conduct regular inspections and tests of the water.
“There is an abundance of bird life and other species along the riverbanks,” she said.
eThekwini ward 18 councillor Mel Brauteseth said a 45mm pipe had washed away due to soil erosion on the river bank. She said the river had changed its course at the intersection of Creak Street and Caversham Road. She added that a 20m length of pipe had to be brought to the site, where repairs had commenced.
The Umbilo River flows through the Paradise Valley nature reserve and several suburbs until it reaches the Durban harbour.
Mark Liptrot, chairperson of the Uthekwane Conservancy, said leaks from sewer pipes were a huge problem throughout the municipality due to ageing infrastructure and not enough monitoring for early detection.
“The water and sanitation department has to fix the infrastructure. We have Eco-champs on the Aller River reporting any overflowing manholes and leaking sewer pipes.
“This is a small stretch of the catchment area. We require funding to sustain this project. In most cases, sewer pipes go through uninhabited areas where monitoring is difficult. These pipes also carry household wastewater that sometimes contaminates the river, killing fish and wildlife,” Liptrot said.