Editorial: Residents’ safety must come first

THE seriousness and hazardous risks of skyrocketing pollution levels in what used to be one of Nelson Mandela Bay’s most prized recreational attractions – and the urgent need for immediate intervention – cannot be overemphasised.

It is a crying shame that the Swartkops River and estuary, which has always been a playground for a broad range of leisure and watersport activities, has been allowed to become so dangerously toxic due to sewage spills that people are becoming ill.

The fact that the frustrated environmental watchdog, the Zwartkops Conservancy, has now taken the matter to the high court in an effort to compel the municipality to face up to its responsibilities is a development which does not come a moment too soon.

It is a culmination of years of warnings and appeals to officials that something has to be done about crumbling sewerage and other waste water infrastructure –a burning issue also applicable to other parts of the city where there are contaminated rivers which should have been receiving priority attention ages ago.

It is unacceptable that after millions of litres of sewage spilled into the Swartkops in recent months, a riverside community had to receive treatment for diarrhoea and skin infections, while a teenager was recently admitted to hospital after rowing on the river.

While the conservancy says City Hall has failed to spend its full budget allocated to fixing and maintaining sewerage infrastructure, the municipality has blamed huge maintenance backlogs on other projects for the slow progress on Swartkops.

But this is disingenuous. There clearly is a dire health threat here and in other city waterways, and that alone should be the most compelling reason to attend to the issue more comprehensively and with utmost urgency.

The safety of residents must surely come first.