If there was a brown flag that could be hoisted above the province’s dirtiest beaches, then Ballito on the north coast would have had good reason to pin one to its mast.

Rivers of raw sewage leaked on the main beach after a major failure in a pump station on Friday, dampening beach activities.

At least four storm-water pipes started spewing sewage and other toilet-related matter onto the sand.

A few bored-looking lifeguards herded the public from the usually busy beach as foul-smelling water and waste poured from a storm-water drain into a small river and then ran into the sea.

Two other leaky storm-water drains also spilled toilet paper and waste water into the sea, creating a milky brown effluent that was quickly caught by the current.