The deluge of untreated sewage and industrial wastewater into Durban's ocean has meant the seaside holiday destination that boasted 12 Blue Flag beaches just two years ago has failed to make the cut for this year’s festive season.
Last year, the city was unable to participate in the international benchmarking programme managed by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa) on behalf of the Danish Foundation for Environmental Education after the devastating floods in April and May.
The flooding damaged several sewage treatment works and substations, which meant the city's beaches weren't able to meet the stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility standards necessary to be granted one of the world’s most recognised eco-labels.
It also meant that several beaches weren't open to the public for the holidays. Tourism and hospitality officials in Umhlanga said the closure of the beaches led to the loss of about R45m in revenue each day.
Owing to financial and infrastructural challenges in fixing the sewage treatment works and substations, beaches were closed because of water-quality issues and then reopened several times throughout the year — which meant the city couldn't satisfy the criteria for the Blue Flag programme for the 2023/2024 season.
This week, water-quality tests done by both Talbot Laboratories, an independent water-testing firm, and the municipality recorded E. coli counts that in some cases were more than 20 times beyond the acceptable range of 500 per 100ml.
Tests carried out on November 16 at Point, uShaka, South, North, Battery and Country Club beaches showed critical levels had been reached on that day.
Wessa said five South Coast beaches under Ray Nkonyeni Municipality — Marina, Trafalgar, Southport, Umzumbe and Hibberdene — were the only ones awarded Blue Flag status this season.
For the 2023/2024 season, 48 beaches, four marinas and six tourism boats were awarded Blue Flag status nationally.
Tevya Lotriet, Wessa’s senior sustainability programme manager, said they worked with and supported municipalities to increase the number of Blue Flag beaches and maintain those already on the programme.
Lotriet said there were 12 coastal municipalities, two of them metros, participating in the programme, adding that eThekwini no longer participated in the initiative.
She said eight of the 33 Blue Flag criteria were directly related to water quality, and were designed to pick up consistent contamination, which was determined by taking surf-water samples at least once a month during the bathing season.
“During the season, we do inspections at every beach at least once to monitor compliance with the criteria, and we are in constant communication with beach managers and municipalities during the season to manage any non-compliances or issues as they arise,” she said. “We also monitor water-quality results throughout the season sent to us by the independent labs contracted for this purpose, to ensure qualifying sites remain within the water-quality parameters.”
eThekwini municipality declined to respond to queries about the Blue Flag programme, saying it would issue a full statement this week.
Brett Tungay, chair of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa), said selling destinations without Blue Flag beaches to tourists was a “challenge”, especially when the travellers were foreign. “It’s like buying a product that is not standard-approved.”
He said Blue Flag status had an impact on international travellers choosing whether to come to South Africa, or else go to Kenya or Tanzania, for a beach holiday.
“As a tourist, you know when a city has Blue Flag beaches there is good water quality [and] toilets on the beachfront are working, and this gives assurance. As much as the sector is engaging in campaigns and calling for people to come, people need to know what they are getting for their money.”
Tungay said Fedhasa had been engaging with eThekwini and Ugu municipality on the South Coast regarding whether they were ready to welcome tourists to their beaches. He said that in eThekwini there was no 100% guarantee there wouldn't be any sewage leaks that could make tourists sick.
“We have been attempting to engage municipalities to try to sort out these issues, but there is very little willingness from them to engage [with] the private sector,” he said.
Umhlanga Tourism chair Jeannie Sarno said they had lost a sponsor for their summer festival because Umhlanga's beach did not have Blue Flag status.
“Our aim is most definitely to work towards regaining our Blue Flag status, but we all have our part to play in it. Our guests flock to us for the ocean. We have a product that is available year-round at great temperatures. The bookings are coming in slowly because there is a level of uncertainty about the beaches. Visitors want security when they book — not to have to cancel and pay penalties.”
She said the impact of the water-quality crisis weighed heavily on smaller establishments.
South Coast Tourism said many tourism establishments were ready to welcome holidaymakers during the peak season. “While it’s still too early to give visitor numbers just yet, they’re receiving positive feedback in terms of visitor interest and bookings in the region,” said Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise.
Mangcu said they were anticipating a bumper year for tourism.
Ugu spokesperson France Zama said they had put in place a comprehensive plan to ensure a smooth festive season in terms of water and sanitation services.
