Isipingo Lagoon pollution set to be discussed in Parliament

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal says it's escalating the matter after piles of dead fish this week washed up on the banks of the lagoon, where the water had turned pitch black from pollution. 

 

Gavin Hegter, who's with the party's environmental group, says they've identified raw sewage and effluents as the cause. 

 

He says the Isipingo Beach pump station's been in a state of disrepair since the April floods. 

 

"There's been an overflow from there since April in this lagoon. And it wasn't noticed at that time until the Joyner Road pump station, that pump failed. That pump was new and sponsored but it failed. 

 

“So there was a spike in electricity and it blew the motor so they took that pump. So that is what has caused an excessive amount of sewerage.”

 

A local fisherman also said he was shocked by the harmful pollution levels in the lagoon.

 READ: eThekwini lambasted for 'devastating' Isipingo Lagoon fish disaster

He says he's been fishing at the lagoon since he was a child.

 

 "I've been fishing from about 10 years old. I used to go with my dad and we fished in the rivers and caught the same fish. For us to catch that size was a fantastic effort and 45 years later, for me to see this fish on the beach contaminated, and polluted, it's really devastating. At the same time, the chemical in the water is not good for anybody.”

 

eThekwini Municipality sent a team to the lagoon on Wednesday to remove the dead fish and investigate the cause of the spill.