Investigation finds no evidence of raw sewage dumping by municipal employees
...

Date: 2025-01-20 06:01:24

Investigation finds no evidence of raw sewage dumping by municipal employees

ETHEKWINI NEWSFLASH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 JANUARY 2025
 
*INVESTIGATION FINDS NO EVIDENCE OF RAW SEWAGE DUMPING BY MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES*
 
Preliminary investigations have revealed that eThekwini Municipal employees seen in a trending video were not dumping bags of sewage in the Mount Moreland Conservancy near uMdloti.
 
In fact, what is contained in the black plastic bags is silt extracted from the bottom of pumpstation sumps.
 
The investigation was sparked by the circulation of a video titled ‘Irresponsible eThekweni Municipality’, with a man speaking over the video recording saying: “I just caught all these okes dumping. Honestly, it smells like sewage, smells like raw sewage.”
 
An investigation was conducted on 16 January 2025. The staff member concerned stated that the bags fell off the truck as he was driving up a steep section of the road. The men seen in the video had disembarked to pick up the bags and load them back into the truck.
 
The investigating official visited the site yesterday to investigate and found that the section of the incident is around a bend going uphill. There were traces of dried-up silt on the road and grass. (Pictures are attached to illustrate).
 
*WHAT EXACTLY WAS IN THE BLACK PLASTIC BAGS AND WHERE WAS IT BEING TRANSPORTED?*
 
The black bags in the video contained silt extracted from the bottom of pumpstation sumps.
The silt is stored in plastic bags for ease of manual handling and transportation. The Canelands Pumpstation does not have space for storing skips, therefore the silt extracted must be transported by truck to the nearest pumpstation that has skips on site.
 
*WHERE WAS THE SILT BEING TRANSPORTED FROM?*
 
The silt was being transported from the Canelands Pumpstation to the Ohlange Pumpstation. The Ohlange Pumpstation has four empty skips used for the disposal of silt.
 
*WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SILT AFTER IT IS EXTRACTED FROM PUMPSTATION SUMPS AND HOW IS IT NORMALLY DISPOSED?*
 
The silt is stored in plastic bags and transported to the nearest pumpstation that has an empty skip in the yard. Thereafter, the skips are transported to an authorised legal dump site to be disposed of safely.
 
The City has also noted incorrect and irresponsible media reports, purporting that the employees were dumping raw, unfiltered sewage into the uMdloti River resulting in a high E.coli count which affects beaches.  
 
The black plastic bags were not dumped into the river or stream and there is no link between the silt and E.coli.
 
The health of residents and visitors is of paramount importance to the City. And while the Municipality encourages the public to take civic pride for the betterment of our City, the public is urged to do so responsibly and to refrain from making speculative accusations without concrete evidence. 
 
The City warns against speculative reporting by the media and the public which tarnishes the image of the City without basis. 
 
The public is urged to report cases of fraud, corruption, misconduct and maladministration to the City Integrity and Investigation Unit by calling 0800 20 20 20 or email ombuds@durban.gov.za
 
ENDS
 
Issued by the eThekwini Municipality’s Communication Unit.