Melkbosstrand beach closed again due to sewage issues
A red danger flag flies at Melkbosstrand Beach, warning swimmers of hazardous conditions as sewage issues lead to repeated closures.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
Repeated beach closures at Melkbosstrand have left beachgoers frustrated due to a series of sewage-related incidents, with residents expressing concerns that the explanations for these disruptions have been inadequate.
The most recent shutdown occurred on Monday morning following a pump malfunction, marking the third incident to affect the popular West Coast beach in just three weeks.
Residents in the area have raised concerns about ongoing sewage problems near the Beach Road pump station in previous weeks, with some saying spills and overflows have occurred for some time.
Local ward councillor Paul Swart said the closures were caused by separate incidents and were not the result of a continuous sewage spill.
“It is very unfortunate that within a space of three weeks we had these three incidents, but they were all separate. They were not things that the department could preempt and take measures for,” Swart said.
According to Swart, the first incident occurred about three weeks ago when an overflow was reported at the pump station in Beach Road.
“The first one was three weeks ago when there was a spill at the pump station in Beach Road at the manhole, which resulted from overnight work that the department did at the pump station. That was contained and the beach was closed until the Tuesday. Everything was fine,” he said.
A second incident occurred the following weekend when the same manhole overflowed again, this time due to a blockage in the sewer line.
“The following weekend on Saturday, there was a spill at the same manhole in Beach Road which resulted from a blocked drain,” Swart said.
He said the blockage was caused by foreign objects being flushed into the sewer system.
“This is caused by residents throwing items like diapers, wipes and other things into toilets that should not be there. This blocked the drain and caused the beach to be closed,” he said.
After water quality tests confirmed that the water was safe, the beach reopened in just under a week.
Swart said the beach remained open until Monday morning when the latest incident occurred after a pump stopped working.
“What happened was that the pump stopped working for 15 minutes. I am still waiting for a report on the internal cause of that,” he said.
The beach has again been closed as a precaution while water quality tests are conducted.
“Residents can expect it to be open again by tomorrow afternoon,” he added.