Umbilo River pollution

[Rob Crankshaw]

Dear Justine,

I hope you are keeping well. Referring to your eMail:

From: umbilo-rive...@googlegroups.com <umbilo-rive...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Pinetown Conservancy
Sent: 24 June 2021 07:29 PM
To: umbilo-rive...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Marxs SUPERNDNT TREARMENT WORKS <arthur.m...@gmail.com>; Claudia Botha <Claudi...@durban.gov.za>; Laura Washington (Umbilo River ) <washingt...@gmail.com>; Sandile Cele <Sandil...@durban.gov.za>
Subject: F210613/874 Pollution in Westmead

 

Hi

On 13 June I received the reference number (reported on 9 June) pollution that had been visible on the Umbilo river for a few weeks before that even.  

The pollution is worse now - foam and chemical smells, especially at night.  Please escalate this problem - it is most likely a blocked sewer in Sprite or Surprise roads, as that is a historical problem.

F210613/874 Pollution in Westmead 

 

Re the pollution of the Umbilo River, I recommend you get legal advice on this; the best person to ask for guidance is Jeremy Ridl. I have attached, for example, correspondence on a case involving the Vaal River but he is very much involved in KZN issues and has offered us advice on the Umlazi River He sent me the message below after I asked him about pollution down at Isipingo.

Best regards

Rob Crankshaw

 

Hello Rob

The pictures reveal as complicated a mess as the authorities are on pollution!

After more than 10 years of negotiating and fighting with the authorities on the Vaal, 7 court orders against the Emfuleni Municipality, the Vaal River is currently in the state shown in the attached pictures. E. coli counts, where life-threatening levels are 400 organisms per 100ml of water, run into tens and hundreds of thousand, sometimes in the millions.

We now have a “structural interdict” against the Municipality, requiring it to fix up its sewage treatment works etc. and to report back to the court. The SANDF was involved for a while, the Minister of Water Affairs has tried hard, all to no avail, so we have now joined all the role players to the court application- Ministers of Water and Sanitation, Environmental Affairs, COGTA and Finance, Premier and MEC of COGTA. The matter will come to court later in the year.

This has prompted the Minister of Water and Sanitation to invoke section 63 of the Water Services Act, to take the sanitation function away from the Municipality (which is under administration anyway). There is not only one Municipality involved and there is more than one province adding to the mess, and the need to widen the net of the court order.

I am telling you this, so you understand that an “end of pipe” solution will get you nowhere. You will have more than one target, and it will move. You need to involve all authorities and stakeholders from the outset. I know the Anti-Pollution Watchdog as worked with Des de Sa and SDCEA on air pollution. I would recommend involving them again. You might get WESSA’s CoastWatch involved and other local interest groups. A combined effort will be necessary.

The Mlazi River has a very polluted catchment, starting far inland. Hammarsdale’s industrial area feeds into it, it passes through densely populated informal settlements, townships and  residential suburbs, all of which add to the mess, which is rounded off by heavy industry in the South Durban Basin. You may well find that the obvious targets like the big heavy industries and petro-chemical operations, make less of an impact because they are heavily regulated, and it is the cumulative impact of all the little guys that are the problem. Most of the plastic debris is likely to come from the residential areas, and the really bad stuff from industry, often the small operator, who cannot afford to pay for expensive disposal of toxic waste (if it is high-hazard, it has to go to Joburg) and pours it into the stormwater drain.

The old airport site with its fuel tanks, and a very old concrete-capped “dump” of chrome 6 at the northern end of the runway, over the canal, are potential disasters in the making. Your pictures are the tip of the iceberg.

I suspect you have no single culprit to finger. It will be very difficult to prove who the biggest contributor to the nasty cocktail is.

I suggest that you start by alerting all the relevant authorities, from the bottom up – eThekwini Municipality, EDTEA, the national ministers of Water and Sanitation, and Environmental Affairs, to the problem. Both ministers are the most the competent we have ever had in these portfolios, but Minister Sisulu, who also has human settlements for good measure, is doing her job just a bit too well, which might be career-shortening!

You would be well placed with your conservancies experience to pull the stakeholder groups together. If you can get them to agree on concerted action, then we write a letter on behalf of the group to all the authorities and call for a stakeholders’ “indaba” on the issue, not just of what you see at the mouth of the canal or the stormwater drain, but how better to manage the problem at the catchment level, while the immediate issue is addressed urgently.

There is plenty of law to back action against the government agencies for their failure to discharge their constitutional mandates to prevent pollution, and individuals, who are contravening the law. If the response is inadequate, then the route to go is by way of a structural interdict – you ask the court for an order compelling the authorities to:

·        come up with a plan to address the problem;

·        set timeframes and a budget for action;

·        decide an implementation plan;

·        report periodically to I&APs and the court on progress, with the I&APs having the right to return to court to vary the order or to seek compliance if the authorities do not comply with the order.

That is about it. Quite simple really!

I am planning to spend most of the day away from my desk for a change, so I might not reply to your response (if any) today.

All the best

Jeremy

 

From: Rob Crankshaw <rob.cr...@amamarketing.co.za>
Sent: 8 May 2021 06:13
To: 'Jeremy Ridl' <jari...@gmail.com>
Cc: antipolluti...@gmail.coml; 'OJ & Russel' <o...@oliviajones.co.za>; 'Keith Cunningham' <ke...@driverassesslive.com>
Subject: Raw sewage and effluent leaches into the isipingo cuttings beach

 

Dear Jeremy,

I hope you are keeping well.

The attached photos and video were shown to me by the Antipollution Watchdogs, who I am sure you are familiar with.

This really is an intolerable situation. What are your exact recommended steps needed to assess the contraventions, identify the responsible organisations(s) and institute remedial action?

I am happy to discuss it first and meet you at a time and location of your choice.

Thank you and best regards,

Rob

Rob Crankshaw

082 9009593

 

From: Anti Pollution Watchdogs <antipolluti...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, 06 May 2021 15:20
To: Rob Crankshaw <rob.cr...@amamarketing.co.za>
Subject: Raw sewage and effluent leaches into the isipingo cuttings beach

 

The Anti-pollution Watchdogs

 

Fighting for a better environment for all South Africans

 

 

Hi Rob I hope you are keeping well, as per your request we are sending you this email with the effluent and raw sewage that was washed up in cuttings beach. Thanking you.

 

Yours faithfully

David Naicker

[Pinetown Conservancy]

Hello Rob

Many thanks for your email and all the info, appreciated.  To be very honest, I simply do not have the stamina to take the municipality to court over work that they should be doing without us having to bite at their heels!!!  I have attached just a few images from a powerpoint that I put together a few years back. It has been devastating to watch the pollution line the river bed; foam; stench; dyes, etc.  The river rehabilitates itself and a few months later the next onslaught wipes out any bit of wildlife that need the river to survive.  

We, the residents who live alongside the Umbilo River, at first used to blame the factories for polluting the river.  Turns out, nine times out of ten, the problem lay with the upkeep of the sewer systems.  Blockages, they would say.  If a factory was found to have violated it's usage of the sewer system, they received a R5000 fine.  So, we would ask if there is ROUTINE maintenance of the sewer system so that any "blockages', roots, fats/cooking oil etc could be cleared proactively.  No. 

The Stobel Fire of 2015 caused massive destruction and no followup of rehabilitaton was forthcoming.... and what of the Transnet Pipeline incident?  Not to mention the Boom Street Waste Water Works fiasco. 

There have not been incidents of pollution for a good few months now (from Westmead's side).  Lockdown was heaven.  No litter from Mariannhill Road, no chemicals from factories.  Bliss, and nature thrived.  We have seen spoor of water mongoose and they have been spotted by Kokkewiet.  I don't know how they, or any of the birds, frogs etc have survived these past 2 months with ongoing chemicals, foam, layer of orange gunk on the river bed, followed by green/black gunk, it's just awful awful awful. 

I am hoping that the problem I originally reported has been rectified.  I have received no feedback and the smell of chemicals is choking (especially at night) and the foam is ongoing.

(A side note: the whatsapp number to report water pollution takes three days before they bother to give a reference number, even though they are seen to be "online" all the time. After repeated messages of nagging, someone musters up the energy to respond days later, by which time the pollution has washed down the river so the PCT doesn't stand a chance at tracing it to the source) 

Nature will thrive if humans respect it.

Kind regards

Justine 

PINETOWN CONSERVANCY

084 437 9631

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Let us direct our desire for a better world into the earth itself.” Carol L. MacKay

we have a facebook page too: Pinetown Conservancy

P  Please consider the environment before printing this email

--
Please invite interested parties to Umbilo River Community
 
Umbilo River Community
 
https://groups.google.com/d/forum/umbilo-river-community
 
link to view files:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ISOE25-_0Iw9iR0_4Imfj6I9ugKe-cYX?usp=sharing
 
Everyone is urged to make a stand and do what you can with this information within your abilities and means.
 
Email Address: umbilorive...@gmail.com
 
Google Groups email address to send to everyone:
Umbilo-rive...@googlegroups.com
 
We are all in this together!
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Umbilo River Community" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to umbilo-river-comm...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/umbilo-river-community/023b01d76ca1%24569133d0%2403b39b70%24%40amamarketing.co.za.

[Rob Crankshaw]

Dear Justine,

Thank you for your reply. I would like to propose

• I make a visit with you to the areas concerned to see the river conditions myself
• After that, assist you with a report from your Conservancy to the City and eThekwini Environmental Restoration Unit.

You can phone me at 082 9009593

Regards

Rob

I have attached one of your photographs for addressees  on this mail

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/umbilo-river-community/CAJ-ueWVevth%2B-yjqcPvhD00hRwB-Cm8zHmZ1gm7GNkT_pYcfyQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Pinetown Conservancy]

Hi Rob

Thank you for your offer to assist with the Umbilo River pollution situation.  I'm not  in a position at this stage to take on such a monumental task. I will, however, ask on our River whatsapp group, if anyone would be prepared to run with it at this stage. 

Kind regards

PINETOWN CONSERVANCY

084 437 9631

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Let us direct our desire for a better world into the earth itself.” Carol L. MacKay

we have a facebook page too: Pinetown Conservancy

P  Please consider the environment before printing this email

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/umbilo-river-community/03cd01d76d1d%24b2f52b50%2418df81f0%24%40amamarketing.co.za.