Poor infrastructure the source of eThekwini water woes – expert
An expert says sorting out eThekwini's water quality issues will require addressing the source of the problem.
Professor Faizal Bux, who is the director of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at the Durban University of Technology, says there are no easy solutions.
"The source of the problem is the challenges from the sewage infrastructure networks throughout the city.
"The wastewater treatment plants that are not functioning optimally, the pump stations and vandalism of pump stations are key criteria that need to be addressed first in order to ensure that we do not contaminate our rivers and beaches."
He says some of the city's beaches are at risk of losing their blue flag status because of poor quality.
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Bux says this has a ripple effect on tourism, especially at such a crucial time for the sector.
"With the storm and the lack of maintenance of sewage infrastructure will have a major impact on our wastewater treatment plants and pump station and, as a result, a lot of sewage get discharged into rivers, which eventually ends up in the ocean and then it impacts the water quality of the beaches."
The city has maintained that the water quality problems flowed from the devastation and destruction caused by the floods earlier this year.
Several beaches have been off-limits after high levels of e.Coli were detected in their water.
Last week, the mayor said the city was on track to reopen all of them by the 1st of December.
