The cause of hyacinth infestation at Hartbeespoort Dam is upstream — Minister

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu says the root cause of the hyacinth problem at the Hartbeespoort Dam came from outside the North West province and points to municipalities next door.

Mchunu led a celebration of the Hartbeespoort Dam’s 100 years of existence, inspected the dam wall and took a cruise, noting the dam was still intact.

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“Its structural integrity was confirmed. We will be doing further assessments, but so far so good. The dam is used for a number of purposes, for irrigation which must continue because water is essential for economic growth from an agriculture point of view,” he said.

Mchunu said the Magalies Water Board was appointed to clean up the hyacinth infestation. “Hyacinth is stubborn. Rather than dealing with it temporarily, we wanted to go to the root cause.

“The root cause is outside the dam and the North West, and points to municipalities next door.

“We are on our way to meet them very soon and we will tell them how they are polluting and causing harm to this dam,” he said.

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Magalies Water research and development manager Prof Vhahangwele Masindi said the dam’s centenary was a good milestone, despite the hyacinth problem.

“Magalies Water came up with a plan explicitly tailored for this dam and the needs of the dam.

The root of the problem

“Nutrients are being loaded into the system and they create an environment that is conducive for the growth of aquatic plants such as algae which depleted the water oxygen through this decomposition, hence we are seeing dead fish in the dam,” he explained.

Masindi said they introduced a “nano bubble” to boost the oxygen levels in the dam and assist in decomposing the nutrients and the substances in the dam.

“What we see here in the dam was a symptom of upstream activities. “The problem is upstream and not in the dam,” he said. Masindi said the problem has been building up for many years.

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“We have wastewater activities upstream that are discharging fluids that are not compliant and that gets into the dam,” he said.

Masindi said the hyacinths were being harvested mechanically and manually.

“We can confidently say that by June, this problem will have subsided and the dam will be functioning. We will not find the dam in this state again,” he said.

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Captain David Matome, who has nine years’ experience driving boats internationally, said going through the hyacinth on Hartbeespoort Dam was a night mare.

“When you pass through the hyacinth, you have to push to get through.

“Sometimes, the hyacinth goes onto the filters which can cause the boat engine to overheat,” he said.

Matome said the restoration of the dam was good news. “This is our bread and butter,” he said.

“If they don’t make a plan to get rid of the hyacinth, it will start affecting business and us. We have families to support.”

Olebogeng Chalatsi was celebrating her 30th birthday next to the dam with a group of friends. Chalatsi said she hasn’t been to the dam in over 15 years.

“I was happy to celebrate my birthday here, but I am shocked to see these floating plants. I have never seen this,” she said.