DURBAN - EThekwini Municipality said sewage has entered Durban port after some of its pump stations malfunctioned as a result of ongoing load shedding and vandalism.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city conceded that some of its pump stations malfunctioned.
“This is largely as a result of vandalism and unrelenting load shedding. Moving from one load shedding stage to the next happened to occur haphazardly, leaving us with a very small room to shut down some of the stations to avoid them discharging raw sewage into the port,” he said.
Mayisela said the city is currently doing an assessment.
In the event that the situation gets out of hand, we shall apprise the public, he said.
“It should be noted that this is a situation that is beyond our control in which we appeal to the public to work with us and we fully understand the inconvenience it is causing,” said Mayisela.
The city has processes that are currently under way to look into procuring generators for all of its 200 pump stations, said Mayisela.
“Each generator costs in excess of R2 million. The city is working around the clock to normalise the situation and there is no need to panic,” he said.
THE MERCURY