Molweni project makes visible impact

The Citizen

22-06-2025

TWO years since it was established in July 2023, the Mend the Molweni (MtM) project has made a visible impact in the Hillcrest area through its voluntary work, which includes monitoring sewer spills and planting community gardens.
Project manager Luci Coelho of the Hillcrest Conservancy said this initiative was started after a massive sewer spill across Old Main Road caused by a blocked sewer line.
The area's conservancy then decided that it needed to take drastic action, said Coelho.
'Not only were the escalating sewer spill problems affecting quality of life in the area, but all the sewer was landing up in the Molweni River headwaters that are in Springside Nature Reserve. Partnering with Kloof and Everton Conservancies, which are both also on the Molweni River, a project approach and methodology was designed to address the problem,' said Coelho.
Coelho said the aim of the project is to use a partnership-based and collaborative strategy to:
Reduce the impact of the sewer on the quality of life of the Hillcrest community (business and residential).
Prevent the extremely negative environmental impact on the Molweni River catchment.
Pilot and model an approach and methodology based on collaboration and co-responsibility, which could be replicated in other areas facing similar problems.
Contribute to the municipal project that aims to fix all waterways in eThekwini known as the Transformative Riverine Management Programme.
She said the project methodology entails:
Getting a baseline understanding of the infrastructure systems of sewer and stormwater in the area, and what the primary problem causes are.
Employing an envirochamp to monitor 26 hotspot sites twice daily.
Developing a stakeholder engagement process to encourage sewer users to manage fats, oils and grease (FOGs) better, and a communication system to educate and inform the public about the issues.
Engaging proactively with the municipality to improve infrastructure management and maintenance and to speed up repair response times.
Building a technical team to assist in multiple ways to address technical problems with the infrastructure.
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'Two years later, the successes have made us proud and have validated the huge amount of volunteer time that has gone into the process. The incidence of sewer spill days has reduced drastically over the past 22 months. While it is not yet perfect, it is getting better by the month,' said Coelho.
She said key to the success are the co-operative relationships that have been slowly built up between civil society, the business community and the eThekwini Water & Sanitation department.
'This has been based on continuous engagement by the MtM team and these stakeholders. Many of the sewer users have come on board to support the effort through improving their waste management practices. The municipality is responsive when we request their teams to fix surcharging manholes and malfunctioning pumps – often on the same day,' said Coelho.
The MtM envirochamp, Hlengiwe Magwaza, plays a key role in the project, monitoring 26 'hotspots' twice daily.
'This means that when there are leaks, she is able to report these immediately to the municipality, enabling the radical reduction of the impact of sewer, by quick repair responses,' said Coelho.
Magwaza said: 'I have seen so much improvement. When I started, I was chasing leaks all over the place, three or four times a week. Now three or four weeks can go past without even one leak.'
Coelho said the success of the MtM project has also led to a similar one being started in Kloof.
'Under the stewardship of Steve Hobbs and Anele Mbanjwa, the uMbilo Headwaters Project will do similar work to reduce sewer ingress into the headwaters of the uMbilo River catchment,' said Coelho.
She added that critical to these projects that are managed by conservancy volunteers are the donations received to cover the costs.
'The main costs are salaries for the envirochamps, education materials, and stakeholder engagement costs. The MtM has received help from local business owners for the past two years, but the funds are currently dangerously low, threatening the sustainability of the project,' said Coelho.
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