Vaal River reopens after 398 hectares of invasive species removed

The Vaal River has officially reopened after local government and community groups worked for months to clear invasive plants in the water.

Water lettuce and hyacinth had overrun the Vaal River Barrage Reservoir late last year, Rand Water said on Monday about the iconic river that forms the border between Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and North West to the north, and the Free State to the south.

The invasive species covered 398 hectares of the river, which “crippled tourism”, the Business Report said.

Boat businesses stopped operating as the river was no longer navigable.

The tourism industry suffered as lodges, boutique hotels, guest houses, pubs, golf courses, boat and fishing clubs, and even picnic spots were all affected.

ALSO READ: What next?! Task team to tackle ‘sewage-loving’ water lettuce crisis in Vaal River

Vaal reduced to ‘less than one hectare’

However, after much work, and R10 million spent by the Vaal’s hospitality industry, the weed levels had dropped dramatically by September this year.

Leslie Hoy, the Vaal River project manager, told IOL the invasive species reduced the coverage of water to less than one hectare.

“Eventually in winter it was possible to see clear water and for the majority of the water body to be free of free-floating invasive species,” he said.

“This was achieved through the support of various stakeholders, starting with the Vaal River community, Rand Water, the Department of Water and Sanitation and others.

“The scourge of water lettuce and water hyacinth [was] fuelled by relentlessly high levels of polluted water in the catchment of the Vaal River,” Hoy said.

ALSO READ: Vaal Dam water levels drop further below half, much lower than last year

Community marks opening of Vaal River

The Department of Water and Sanitation and Rhodes University’s Centre for Biological Control joined Rand Water’s conservation arm, Water Wise, at Stonehaven on Vaal on the weekend.

There, officials engaged with the community during the Flotilla Event Celebrations. This marked the reopening of the dam and the official start of the Spring sailing season.