Hundreds of fish killed in Isipingo Beach estuary
The water in the river is black and murky and there is a nauseating sewer stench in the air. Many years ago, Isipingo was known for being a beautiful and pristine area, with a variety of mangroves and a number of species of bird life and fish.
A health catastrophe is waiting to explode at the Isipingo river and estuary after hundreds of fish and other river life washed up on the banks of the estuary, recently.
This has left community activists, environmentalists and residents of Isipingo Beach fuming.
ALSO READ: ‘Black’ toxins pollute Isipingo Beach
At this stage, it is alleged that the fish have been killed by toxins that are believed to be coming from industries and raw sewer, polluting the river.
The water in the river is black and murky and there is a nauseating sewer stench in the air. Many years ago, Isipingo was known for being a beautiful and pristine area, with a variety of mangroves and a number of species of bird life and fish. Now with the industrialisation the area has been subjected to harmful pollution.
“The Isipingo river and estuary has become a dumping ground for commercial and municipal waste for many years. This area which was once pristine has literally become a chemical dumping site. With the chemical pollution that we have had recently, a massive number of fish was killed. We had a number of fish species here that our children would have enjoyed catching instead of driving miles away to go fishing,” said concerned Isipingo Beach resident, Shaun Pillay.
The resident also claimed that he has been dealing with this issue for many years and has struggled to have this matter heard.
Pillay urged people to stop polluting so that they could avoid a massive tragedy and the destruction of the ecosystem.
ALSO READ: Something ‘fishy’ at Isipingo Beach lagoon
“Our cries have fallen on deaf ears and I am concerned that if we don’t get this right now then it will become an even bigger problem down the line. This beautiful ecosystem may not be here down the line for our grandchildren to enjoy. There is one environment, this is our earth, this is our space. Our children want to play and enjoy themselves and in order to do that we need to have clean water. Fresh water is all we require and we need to work as a team to achieve that,” said Pillay in closing.
The eThekwini Municipality had not responded at the time of going to print.
Visit our sister sites for more news in the respective areas:
