The degradation of streams in Phoenix will soon be a thing of the past as local organisation, Safe Cities, along with eThekwini Municipality officials, councillors and civil society will be tackling the problem through the recently unveiled Project Streamline.
The project was launched at Rainham on Thursday, 22 September, by the Safe Cities. Project leader, Gerda Strydom, said Safe Cities is a non-profit company that has environmental issues at heart and added that the streams in the city are the veins of the earth.
She said: “As civilians we want to support the eThekwini Municipality with cleaning up the streams in Phoenix. The main focus of the project meeting was to discuss a way forward and the process that needs to be followed with the various departments. The health of our planet depends on the health of our streams.”
Strydom said there are many streams that are full of litter which is cause harm to both the environment and the local economy. “It harms our economy, pollutes marine life, decreases water quality, climate change and leads to illnesses experienced by residents,” said Strydom.
The three main factors that will drive this project is collaboration, removing resistance so water can flow freely and employing a faster and simpler method to getting the job done. The chairperson of the Phoenix Enviro-Forum, Sharen Kistnasamy, said this is a long-awaited initiative and that they are glad several community structures are stepping forward to make a difference.
She said: “We will ensure that education around proper waste management and recycling, is done during the duration of the project.”
Environmental Health Senior Practitioner, Sholona Mahabeer agreed with Kistnasamy and said its all about changing the mindset of the community. “Unfortunately, residents and businesses see no problem with dumping in streams and other vacant land. They do not realise that it is harming their own communities,” she said.
Mahabeer said their main concern is the health hazard to residents as dumping gives rise to insects and rodent-breeding, which can cause major health issues.
Ward 50 Councillor, Lyndal Singh, who was present at the launch, said the project is aimed at streamlining the cleaning of the streams, as well as sustainability over a long period of time.
“This means that there will be educational programmes as well as clean-ups where they are bringing volunteers on board and we are also calling on community members to join this initiative as well. This is something that the community can look forward to and ensuring that we live in a clean and beautiful environment overall,” said Singh.
The team has identified four streams in Phoenix and will test the water quality so that it is safe for volunteers and officials to clean-up. A site inspection will then be done, and the pilot clean-up is planned for 5 October.
Residents in surrounding communities are encouraged to get involved.
