“All water sports such as swimming, surfing, fishing, swimming, canoeing and other activities that take place on city beaches are prohibited. Beachgoers are urged to heed this warning as ignoring it could lead to outbreaks of waterborne diseases,” Etekwini said on Monday.
Closed beaches include:
- Westbrook
- uMhlanga Main
- in Mdloti
- Casuarina
- eThekwini Beach
- Seasonal Laguna Beach
- Ansteys Beach
- Brighton Beach
- Isifinga Beach
- Reunion Beach
- Warner Beach
- Amanzimtoti Main Beach
- Pipeline beach
Residents are permitted to indulge in other beachside activities, as long as they don’t include getting wet, according to the town.
Police officers and lifeguards will keep an eye on the beaches to make sure people are adhering to the restrictions. When the beaches are declared safe for usage, the general public will be informed.
The municipality has already been compelled to shut certain beaches because of high E. coli levels.
The city declared several beaches off-limits in June after substantial sewage infrastructure and treatment plant damage led to sewage contamination in many waterways, according to the municipality.
Communities are advised, “in the interest of public health, to avoid any contact with water in rivers or streams, including swimming, fishing, recreation, sports, and traditional activities, as this can lead to gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, and other communicable diseases through water,” the municipality stated at the time.
The Democratic Alliance (Yes) claims that hundreds of fish were reported dead in the Blue Lagoon region on Monday.
“Ecoli counts at monitoring stations now show millions of CFU, making it impossible for authorities to reopen the most popular beaches before the summer holiday season,” the DA said.
It is estimated that it would cost roughly 4 billion rand to rebuild the sewage and sanitation infrastructure that was devastated by the recent floods.