Driven by volunteers from Hillcrest Conservancy, Kloof Conservancy and Everton Conservancy, the Mend-The-Molweni Project aims to improve the health of the Molweni River by reducing overflows from Hillcrest’s sewerage network.
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Introducing the project
Hillcrest started experiencing sewerage problems around 2018/2019 with complaints from residents about sewerage flowing through their gardens. Then Ward 10 Councillor, Gill Noyce did her best to address the issue and engaged with eThekwini Water and Sanitation. COVID-19 can likely be blamed for the hiatus between then and 2023 when the efforts were renewed with vigour. At this time, Hillcrest Conservancy also initiated a programme to create wetlands at key points to try to “clean” the pollution flowing into Springside Nature Reserve. Wetlands are well-known for being able to do this. Unfortunately, the problems persisted and became increasingly serious with pump station overflows happening sometimes several times weekly.
A group of irate residents directly affected by the sewer flows through their properties, made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission and the Commission did a site inspection in June 2023. The Comrades Marathon was also affected by a major sewer surcharge across Old Main Road.
In June 2023, three conservancies, Hillcrest Conservancy, Everton Conservancy and Kloof Conservancy got together and formulated an action plan to address the problem which became the Mend-the-Molweni Project.
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The Ponds in Springside Nature Reserve. The team have been rehabilitating the area by removing invasive alien plants, restoring the wetlands and planting indigenous plants.
What’s the problem?
The stormwater system in the Hillcrest CBD drains to the Molweni River which runs through Springside Nature Reserve past numerous private residential properties. From here it flows to Everton, Kloof and Molweni before adding its load to the uMngeni River and then to the Indian Ocean.
The Mend-the-Molweni Team identified that:
- Sewage was overflowing from municipal pump stations into stormwater systems.
- Sewage was flowing from surcharging sewer manholes into the streets in the Hillcrest CBD and then into the stormwater system.
- Solid waste and other contaminants also added to the contamination of stormwater, especially in the rainy season.
What’s the cause?
- Infrastructural and operational issues including missing back-up pumps, generators not coming on-line during power outages and slow responses to spillages. These issues are primarily the responsibility of Ethekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS).
- Damage caused to sewer pipelines (blockages) and to pump-station equipment by FOG (fats, oils and grease) as well as FSO (foreign solid objects – rags, nappies, disposable wipes). These problems are generated by users of the system such as food preparation and vehicle maintenance businesses, often in contravention of the basic “rules” for use of the sewer and stormwater systems.
- Street contamination (oil, solvents, detergents and litter) is dumped into the stormwater system as a result of street trading activities.
- Many, if not most, people are ignorant of what happens with urban infrastructure, leading them to misunderstand the chain of responsibility in maintaining a well-functioning system.
What’s been done?
Accepting that the problems are complex and multifaceted, the Team took a co-operative approach with both the eThekwini Municipality and the users of the system. This meant engaging with all stakeholders and jointly finding solutions for everyone’s benefit.
The Team have:
- Identified and engaged formal business stakeholders, including shopping centre owners and managers, to discuss the need for compliance and assist them where they need help.
- Had multiple engagements with the Hillcrest Taxi Rank food vendors, taxi owners and commuters.
- Held community meetings with residents – mostly those around Springside Nature Reserve and those with the Molweni flowing through their gardens.
- Engaged with municipal officials from both eThekwini Municipality Water & Sanitation (EWS) and the eThekwini Municipality Health Department.
- Recruited an Eco-champ to monitor the entire sewerage and stormwater network in the CBD twice daily, so that any spillages can be quickly identified and reported.
- Used Facebook and The Highway Mail to keep the public informed.
- Produced a poster and a pamphlet to educate the public about the problem and the solutions.
- Raised money to fund an in-depth analysis of the sewer network, monitoring activities, commissioning specialised expertise, infrastructural repairs and ecological infrastructural developments (creating wetlands).
What’s been achieved?
Significant progress has been made in reducing pump station overflows and manhole surcharges and in improving EWS response times. This in turn has significantly reduced sewage and contaminants entering the Molweni River.
However, the problem has not been solved in its entirety. The team will continue their engagement with all stakeholders and work to strengthen their partnerships with municipal departments.
Expanding monitoring plans to include full days and weekends is necessary, as the current Eco-champ works only part-time.
Additionally, building more ecological infrastructure, such as wetlands, is crucial to mitigate unavoidable spillages.