Sewage in rivers and seas erodes appeal of SA tourist hotspot

Millions of liters of untreated human sewage is flowing into the rivers and seas of South Africa’s eastern city of Durban and surrounding coastline, threatening tourism and business in one of country’s most popular holiday spots.

Decaying infrastructure, vandalism last year during the worst rioting since apartheid ended and damage from floods is causing raw sewage to wash onto some of the 600 kilometers (373 miles) of city’s beaches. That’s led to fluctuating levels of E. coli bacteria in the water and the poisoning of aquatic life, knocking hopes for a bumper summer-holiday season.

“The ongoing closure of Durban’s beaches and the sewage spill across the city creates a poor perception of Durban’s ability to manage its tourism infrastructure,” said Prasheen Maharaj, president of its business chamber. Failure to stop the pollution will lead to “severe economic losses,” he said.

The crisis is the latest in a series of setbacks for the region, which relies on an influx of visitors during the summer holidays to boost its economy. December is traditionally the most popular holiday month in South Africa, when inland dwellers flock to the coast. Durban is considered more affordable and has warmer seas than the chilly Atlantic waters around Cape Town.

The wider KwaZulu-Natal province is the biggest contributor to gross domestic product after Gauteng, where the financial hub of Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria, are located. More than 800 000 tourists spend about R1.5 billion ($88 million) in Durban every year-end period, according to the municipality.

Floods, riots

The last two summer-holiday seasons were marred by Covid-19 restrictions, while operations at Toyota Motor Corp.’s local unit and the nation’s biggest port at Durban were disrupted by the floods. The riots that shuttered thousands of businesses and a cyberattack in 2021 and more recent strike by employees of state-owned port and freight-rail operator Transnet also choked output.

Several beaches have been closed since early April, according to Duncan Heafield, chairman of a tourism association in Umhlanga, an area north of Durban. Festive-season cancellations in the regional hospitality industry are close to 20%, he said.

None of the beaches in the eThekwini Municipality that includes Durban were awarded Blue Flag status — an internationally recognized standard to denote clean, secure and environmentally safe beaches — for 2022-23.

The city’s managers are trying to allay visitors’ concerns and have vouched for the safety of some areas.

“Contractors are currently on site repairing the infrastructure” and many beaches have reopened, Msawakhe Mayisela, the spokesman for eThekwini, said in an emailed response to questions.

Despite the reopening of some spots and a dip in the sea by Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda to prove that swimming is safe, experts are advising holidaymakers to be aware of water-quality results.

“Honestly, most of the beaches should either not be open or immense caution should be taken by the public,” said Anja du Plessis, an associate professor and research specialist in water resource management at the University of South Africa.

While water quality samples show an improvement in E. coli levels, some results don’t meet internationally recommended standards and will probably revert to a critical range due to recent rainfall and “immense sewage pollution” of the Umgeni river, she said.

High levels of E. coli are a public health hazard and may cause illnesses such as urinary tract and bloodstream infections.

The City of Cape Town indefinitely closed part of its popular Muizenberg beach on Monday due to a sewage spill.