Durban Beaches Open

E-COLI CRISIS: Seems like it has been diverted for now after beaches were opened. Photo Unsplash

eThekwini Municipality closed beaches last Thursday after sewage pumps broke down, resulting in 720,000 litres per hour of raw sewage pouring into the Port of Durban. However, the city issued a press release announcing that beaches were safe, and that only water in the harbour was to be avoided due to contamination.

Msawakhe Mayisela, head of communications at the city, said a pump was expected to arrive and would be installed today to prevent further spills in the harbour.

The ZigZag Durban Surf Pro, which was due to run from Friday to Saturday was called off for safety reasons last week due to the e-coli threat. However, the Build for Better Adaptive Surfing Championships, due to run on Saturday at New Pier, will continue, according to an official letter to competitors and stake holders from contest organisers Anne Wright and Julia van Zyl, and head judge Bongani Xulu.

"As safey is our main concern, we did some further investigating into the situation and found that samples are being taken at the beach daily. The latest e-coli tests show that it is safe to swim," the letter said.

"We will continue to look at the water samples in the leadup to the event to ensure the safety of surfers, volunteers, and all community members."