The eTthekwini municipality says it will on Thursday reopen the two Umhlanga beaches after an investigation into the source of mysterious round objects, which were suspected to be human waste mixed with beach sand.
The city had received complaints of potential sewage pollution at Umhlanga main beach when an unidentified resident discovered the “ball” shaped objects.
The solid objects were discovered on Tuesday morning by an unidentified resident at Umhlanga main beach after a video was circulated on social media. The municipality said the person who recorded the video claimed the balls were dog faeces. One resident said in her caption of the video that the balls, which are grey, “smell like poop when opened”.
The municipality then promptly responded by closing both Umhlanga main beach and the Bronze beach, as a precautionary measure, while conducting investigation to the origin of the objects, through the department of pollution and environment.
Providing an update on Wednesday evening, municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said: “Laboratory results released by scientists from the scientific services of samples taken from the solid ‘balls’, which were shown in a circulating video on social media, have found that the solid particles are fats, likely originating from food establishments.”
She said the process included the collection of both beach water samples and the round-shaped solid matter, which were taken for laboratory analysis.
Sisilana conceded that there had been traces of faecal contamination found in the samples, but it was only a very small amount.
“While findings indicate very low faecal contamination in water samples taken on 7 January 2025 at both the Umhlanga Main Beach and Bronze Beach, the source of the solid ‘ball’ matter is being profiled to confirm its origin. Beach cleanup operations will commence to remove the solid matter now that investigations have been carried out.”
This takes the number of beaches declared open and safe for swimming back to 21 out of the city’s 23 bathing beaches.
“The two beaches that are closed due to ongoing maintenance at the wastewater treatment works are Anstey’s Beach and Country Club Beach.”
She reiterated the city’s call for the public and the media to refrain from spreading unverified information.
“The city remains committed to transparency regarding beach water quality and will continue to provide updates.”
TimesLIVE
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