Coast KZN

Tons of waste is regularly dumped into the Umgeni River every year, impacting the water quality and posing health threats to wildlife, fisherfolk, paddlers and others who use the river daily. A major contributor to this excessive waste is illegal dumping.

Since last year, water-quality tests along various sections of the Umgeni River have revealed just how polluted the river is with E.coli (sewage bacteria) and now, Janet Simpkins, founder of the non-profit organisation (NPO) and environmental body, Adopt-a-River, said illegal dumping is an added threat to the health of the river.

She added she was shocked over the increase in dumping on Willowfield Crescent in the Springfield Park area which had also seen the creation of a new informal ‘parking lot’ where vast mounds of sand had been pushed to the edge of the banks of the river.

“We are very concerned about the new river-side parking area. The ground that has been pushed over into the river is now covering service pipes and access to the outfall area. This should never have been allowed to happen. The municipality will have to investigate further and determine who the culprits are. Illegal dumping has definitely been on the increase.

“What is a shocking find is the riverbank has been completely undermined and changed. It seems someone thinks it’s their own new parking space. Earth has been pushed over into the river and is now covering some access to the overflow as well as a sewer line. The complete disregard for the riverbank and for nature in the form of illegal and brazen dumping, right into the river, affects this catchment daily,” she said.

The illegal dumping has also impacted one of the testing sites which volunteers from the environmental organisation have to access in order to measure E. coli levels.

Last year, various stakeholders united to clear a green belt covered in tons of waste illegally dumped on the same road, hundreds of metres from the new dump site.

“Tackling the illegal dumping site near Willowfield Crescent was just a start. It did highlight just how long some of the waste had been there, and it also revealed new dumping areas. The waste that ends up in the river is foreign and shouldn’t be there. It can impact the flow and affect the ecosystem and health of the river. This is a natural living space and should be treated as such – not a dumpsite. In terms of this site, we have engaged with the eThekwini Municipality and Roads and Stormwater to assist by putting up a fence which deterred illegal dumpers,” she said.