Keeping Swartkops alive
The Eastern Cape rivers are being wiped out , with the delicate ecosystem under threat from sewage and water hyacinths .
By Helen Crooks
Brian Witbooi
Access to clean water is a basic human right but , were it not for the ongoing battle being fought by Working for Water , the future could be very bleak for the Eastern Cape ’ s rivers .
As the ecosystem comes under threat from human waste and water hyacinth and both marine life and flora fall victim , the responsibility to curtail the situation falls to the Gamtoos Irrigation Board . The authority is responsible for the management of alien vegetation in the Swartkops River system , as well as other provincial projects funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs .
According to area manager Andrew Knipe , the battle for the Swartkops River has been ongoing for the past few years . Steady progress , however , is being made as teams of workers clear and maintain the river and floodplain . Since 2011 , the project has cleared more than 765 hectares , with follow-up work completed on over 2 672 hectares .
“ Water hyacinths in particular need repeated follow-ups and will re-establish very quickly if we stop clearing operations ,” says Knipe , adding that the population in the lower reaches of the Swartkops River was the lowest it had been in years .
“ However , the problem is compounded by industrial and agricultural pollutants entering the river ,” he adds .
As pollution levels escalate , this , Knipe warns , is not a problem that is going to go away any time soon and with concern explains , “ One of the problems is that the capacity of the Kelvin Jones water treatment works is too small to cope with the vast amounts of sewage being fed into it , so sewage is released into the river ,” Knipe points out , explaining that when pollution levels are high , the water hyacinth population explodes , doubling every 14 days .
If the water hyacinths get out of control , they can cover the entire river , absorbing all the oxygen from the water , killing fish and plant life .
The solution in part , lies in clearing the river of these aquatic weeds , as well as the surrounding land of alien vegetation , including eucalyptus ( bluegum ), acacia saligna ( Port Jackson willow ), and sesbania .
Overseeing this mammoth task is project manager James Jansen , who works with an annual budget of R1.5- million and manages three teams of 12 members each .
“ One of the major challenges is that we ’ re treating the symptoms , not the cause ,” he says . However , clearing alien vegetation from the river banks has exposed the river to more sunlight , allowing for the faster breakdown of nutrients .
16 Water Sewage & Effluent January / February 2018