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The Great British sewage dump.
A landmark High Court ruling has ordered eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to act decisively on Durban’s long-running sewage pollution crisis.
The court found the city’s failures unlawful and unconstitutional, citing breaches of environmental legislation.
Years of neglect have affected beaches, rivers, and tourism.
The court ordered the city to publish weekly E- coli readings for all public beaches, urgently repair and maintain its sewer infrastructure, and communicate water-related hazards to residents and businesses.
ActionSA’s KwaZulu Natal Chairperson, Zwakele Mncwango, says, “This ruling is important, not only for eThekwini, but for South Africans. Because this ruling actually sends a message to other cities like Cape Town that release raw sewer to the beaches.”
Mncwango adds, “We’ve been asking in council meetings to resolve these issues, to address problems, to produce a plan, and unfortunately we’ve been talking to individuals with deaf ears, not prepared to listen to us. Hence we had to resort to going to court. Actually, now we ask the court to request the municipality to do what the constitution is asking them to do.”
Meanwhile, the municipality has temporarily closed four bathing beaches following the detection of pollution. It says it has established a dedicated team comprising senior municipal management to investigate the source of the pollution.
The affected beaches are Blue Lagoon, eThekwini, Country Club and Battery.
[ON AIR] The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed and celebrated a landmark judgment by the Pietermaritzburg High Court ordering the eThekwini Municipality to take concrete steps to address the ongoing sewage pollution crisis affecting Durban’s beaches, rivers, and water bodies.… pic.twitter.com/2jWrKF9ZCt
— SAfmRadio 📻 (@SAfmRadio) December 19, 2025
