DURBAN - THE eThekwini Municipality said it would investigate the cause of the murky, brown water seen at Durban’s New Beach this week.
Pictures taken on Monday showed brown, murky water washing on to the shore.
Approached for comment about the matter, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the brown water may be due to the heavy rains that had been experienced over the past week.
“Please note that the city has experienced a high amount of rain in the past few days, and this can sometimes turn the beach water murky.
“We are investigating the matter now that you have brought it to our attention. But we must guard against attributing everything to do with water to sewage spillage, that’s very wrong unless there is conclusive information in that regard.”
Mayisela added that the beaches from Umgeni River to Salt Rock were still closed.
Beaches were closed as a precaution after a fire engulfed the United Phosphorus Limited warehouse in Cornubia during the unrest in July, resulting in contamination of the Ohlanga River and uMhlanga Estuary, which leads to the sea in uMhlanga.
“All activities on those specific beaches are temporarily prohibited. This includes, swimming, fishing, surfing, and collecting marine life such as mussels of the rocks,” he said.
Mayisela reiterated that beaches would open once authorities are satisfied that there was no risk to public health.
“The public is asked to be patient and to comply with requests from the authorities for their own safety. The city regrets any inconvenience caused, however, the city would not want to jeopardise the safety of the public, which is of utmost importance,” he said.
THE MERCURY