The Ekurhuleni metro houses 206 of 791 wetlands found across the country.
Two per cent of the 206 are totally destroyed, 64 per cent are partially destroyed but under threat and 34 per cent have little impact on them.
This is according to metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe.
“Wetlands refers to land that is wet for more than two weeks of the year down to a depth of 50 centimeters under dry conditions.”
On Friday, April 13, councillors converged at the Dinwiddie Hall in Germiston for a workshop to learn about the importance of conserving these water bodies so as to educate the communities.
“The metro is strategically located to supply water sources for Gauteng such as the Vaal Dam, Rietvlei dam and Hartebeespoort dam which makes it important for Ekurhuleni to conserve its wetlands.
“Failure to conserve the wetlands will in turn compromise the neighboring areas dependent on our water streams for water supply in dry seasons.”
“Furthermore, councillors unanimously raised general concerns affecting wetlands health in their communities.
“This included the issue of water pollution by households or industries, illegal dumping, infrastructure encroachment by roads and housing, inadequate storm water management measures as well as invasive vegetation infestation,” said Gadebe.
Councillor Tiaan Kotze who leads ward 37, which is situated next to a wetland in Dinwiddie, committed to imparting the knowledge he acquired at the workshop to his residents so as to equip them with more information on how to conserve the wetland in their area.
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