Dusi race officials monitor uMsundusi River
With less than a week to go before the Dusi Marathon, race officials are monitoring the water in the uMsundusi River.
THE uMsundusi River is being closely monitored by Dusi Canoe Marathon race officials and representatives from the Dusi Umgeni Conservation Trust ahead of the highly-anticipated event. This observation comes after scientists noted elevated pollution levels following heavy rainfall, technical failures and the effect of load shedding at the Darvill Wastewater Works.
Water testing is conducted on a regular basis by scientists from Umgeni Water and the Dusi Umgeni Conservation Trust (DUCT), which was set up by paddlers to monitor water quality and address environmental concerns facing the river systems.
While water quality readings have generally fallen within what is accepted as a normal range for summer rainfall, attention has been drawn to the unusually high discharges from the Darvill Wastewater Works in the past week. Paddlers were advised via social media on the weekend to avoid using the uMsundusi River until the levels were once again within an acceptable range.
The latest testing done by the DUCT officials showed that the uMsundusi River, from Camps Drift down to the Darvill Wastewater Works, has been of an acceptable standard and well within the range deemed safe by the standards that have been uniformly adopted by recreational river users for more than a decade.
The latest tests downstream of the Darvill Wastewater Works reflect a sharp spike in E. coli levels from the irregular discharge from Darvill. It is expected that the water quality would improve by the time it reaches the put-in after the Campbell’s Farm portage section of the race.
“There is no cause for alarm at this stage. The normal lifespan of E. coli is 24 to 48 hours, and the die-off will be noted in the readings downstream. We are in close consultation with Umgeni Water, which has been very helpful in keeping us updated. We have plans in place should the situation not improve to safely acceptable levels, and paddlers can be sure that the Dusi will start at Natal Canoe Club on 19 February,” said Dusi general manager, Brett Austen Smith.
“The race this year is dedicated to Dr Ian Player, who was passionate about preserving the integrity of the river ecology, so we are even more mindful than ever about our responsibility to safeguard it – not just for the paddlers who use it during the Dusi but for every single person affected by these valleys’
ecosystems,” added Smith.
More information can be found at www.dusi.co.za.
