Closure of beaches 'not good start' for KZN tourist season
A local hospitality group has criticised
eThekwini for water quality failures at six of its beaches.
The failures led to their closure.
Fedhasa says it comes at a time when Durban's gearing up for the arrival of thousands of holidaymakers.
The latest analysis of water samples showed that it isn't safe for bathers to swim at the city's Ushaka, Point, Battery, South, North and Country Club beaches.
A non-profit organisation, Adopt-A-River, did the sampling together with the municipality last week.
Alarming levels of E. coli were found at these popular spots.
Fedhasa's Brett Tungay says it's not a good start to the festive holidays.
"We are extremely disappointed with the municipality in how this has been handled in the last few years.
"There have been adequate offers of help from both national and local government and business community and unfortunately, it's all come to nought and here we are again, another season and wastewater problems."
READ: E. coli force some Durban beaches to close again
He says residents and holidaymakers can still enjoy other activities in the province. "Luckily, KZN has a lot to offer, we have a lot of coastlines that are in pristine condition. We have the Berg and the midlands and game parks. There is still a lot for tourists to do and a lot of attractions in the province."
In a letter to Newswatch, the municipality asked people not to panic.
It said the levels of E. coli picked up at some beaches are due to the heavy downpours we've been experiencing lately.
It says people can make use of other beaches like Umhlanga and Umdloti.
