'Mass' of dead fish wash up again at Umgeni River

It's much to the horror to an environmental conservation group that has been cleaning up the area.

"We have a permanent team based at the mouth at the Umgeni, they have been working there for over three years now," says Janet Simpkins, who is from Adopt-a-River.

"So they regularly collect waste from the mouth, do our water sampling along the river and then they report any instances. Yesterday, the team reported that they had come across another fish kill at the mouth.

"It seems to be relatively fish, it wasn't there the day before. Something had turned overnight and had caused this mass to wash up."

READ: WATCH: Dead fish sparks Umgeni River contamination probe

A week ago, some beaches in eThekwini were closed again while the city continued to test the water quality after high levels of E. coli were detected.

Simpkins says there is a clear need for government intervention.

"It's really just been our wish to see the sewage stop coming down and that's what we really are fighting for. The sewage has been a major factor over that last few years, certainly since the floods it has got worse. We are just hoping for some intervention and some restoration to learn so that we can once again have cleaner waters."   

Simpkins says the team has returned to the river today for further inspection.