Following a second devastating bout of rain along the KwaZulu-Natal coast, organisers of the Consol Breathe World Oceans Day Swim have taken the decision to postpone the event.
The event was scheduled to take place in Durban on June 4.
Event organiser and environmental activist, Sarah Ferguson, said felt that the event could not go ahead with the conditions in the ocean off the Durban coast as they are.
“We have had to postpone the event due to the devastating state of our oceans after the floods this past weekend,” Ferguson said on Tuesday.
“Also coupled with the fact that we have raw sewerage flowing into the ocean because pipes have not been fixed we have made the big decision to postpone our event for the safety of our swimmers.”
Last week, The Witness reported that the eThekwini Municipality had closed all the Durban beaches indefinitely high levels of e-coli in the water following April’s devastating floods.
Ferguson said they will have the World Oceans Day Swim when they have clarity on when it will be safe to swim in the ocean again.
“For those people that have entered we will be in touch about making a plan to reimburse you or carry your entry over to the new date.”
The event was lined up to coincide with World Oceans Day and the swim is an important fund raiser for Breathe Conservation whose work includes educating the public on the impact that single use plastics have on the oceans.
Meanwhile, the third race of the popular Marine Winter Surfski series, the Bay Union King of the Bay, has also been postponed to June 26 due to the recent floods which have resulted in beaches being closed and high levels of pollution in Durban Harbour.
Race committee head, Neels Meyer said that the health and well-being of participants comes first.
The popular annual race starts at the Silt Canal, on the Bluff, and traverses Durban Harbour before completing an out-and back lap in the ocean to the Umngeni River mouth before finishing at the Durban Underwater Club.
