Along the expansive Hann Bay beach of Dakar, a solitary figure works tirelessly with a shovel and wheelbarrow, picking up large amounts of trash in a scene that seems nearly mythical in its enormity.
The air is thick with a pungent odor. Not far from the man, a pipeline spills a dark blend of residential and industrial sewage into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
What was once hailed as one of Africa’s most picturesque coves, a 20-kilometer (approximately 12-mile) long haven beside Dakar’s port, is now the unfortunate recipient of waste from a burgeoning population and ever-growing industrial activity.
Senegal’s manufacturing sector, concentrated along the bay, is responsible for directly contributing to the concerning level of ocean pollution by discharging waste into these waters.
For over two decades, the government has vowed to undertake a clean-up of the area. A project initiated in 2018 with backing from the French Development Agency, Invest International, the Chinese Development Bank, and the European Union has met with delays.
The National Sanitation Agency (ONAS) recently made an announcement about restarting the stalled efforts. The local community continues to plead for lasting solutions.
“People have been talking about a project for years, but nothing ever changes. I’ve lost faith in it,” expressed Daouda Kane, a 45-year-old who sat overlooking the sea.
In proximity, a woman is seen tossing the remnants of her cooked meal on the shore, which teems with insects.
A man carries buckets after dumping waste into a canal along Hann Bay [John Wessels/AFP]
High Toxicity
“Cast your nets here, and you haul in more trash than fish; it makes you sick,” says Modou Ndong, a 53-year-old fisherman.
At certain points, the accumulation of garbage obscures the sand below.
Every so often, sewage drains into the ocean, the water turning a harsh red at the opening of the slaughterhouse discharge and pitch-black near the chemical plants and local tanneries. Those who venture too close are met with a burning throat sensation.
Marine specialist Amidou Sonko, from the French Research and Development Institute (IRD), corroborates the high toxicity levels of the environment.
His analysis detected E coli bacteria at levels 13 to 100 times above the safety threshold, and identified salmonella. The findings also included alarmingly high concentrations of enterococci, microplastics, aluminum, chromium, and zinc – surpassing accepted standards.
These figures not only pose risks to human skin, lungs, and eyes but also threaten the biodiversity of the area, affecting the natural propagation of fish species.
Nevertheless, Seyni Badiane, a young father, is seen swimming with his two- and five-year-old daughters merely 30 meters (about 98 feet) from a channel expelling green wastewater.
“This beach is all we have in our neighborhood, so we come here,” he claims. “We’re Africans; we adapt.”
A young boy plays with a football next to an open sewage pipe along the polluted Hann Bay [John Wessels/AFP]
Industry Inertia
Children will swim here regardless, bemoans Mbacke Seck, an activist fighting for over a quarter-century for the cleanup of the beach and its water. “The delay is incomprehensible. The need, the funding, and the negative impact on our lives are clear. So what’s hindering the progress of this project?”
The French company Suez has been constructing a waste water treatment plant on the shore, designed to serve 500,000 inhabitants by processing 26,000 cubic meters a day. The plant was projected to commence operations in early 2025, according to the French Development Agency AFD, a key investor.
Yet, the project has faced over eighteen months of inactivity due to the main contractor responsible for the primary piping linking the port to the plant declaring bankruptcy, explains Alassane Dieng, project coordinator at ONAS.
One of the main challenges is persuading the industrial firms, which hold 63 percent of the urban zone according to a 2018 study, to participate.
The scheme requires these industries to connect to the network, install pre-treatment facilities, and pay an industrial levy. Failure to adhere to these standards will result in a “very dissuasive” pollution tax, much higher than current levels, warns Dieng, who anticipates the project’s completion by the end of next year.
While these plans slowly progress, the community continues to frequent Hann Bay’s shore.
