The death of the Umvoti River mouth

The Umvoti river mouth, once a haven for bird life, is now dull and lifeless by comparison.
“The bird life has been absolutely decimated,” said well-known Blythedale birder, Bing Comrie. “It was one of the areas that people used to travel for miles and miles to come to. You would see thousands of birds of over 60 different species in the late 90s, now when we see about 60 birds of four species we say it must be improving.”
According to KZN Wildlife conservation officer Lionel van Schoor, the area was once a close second to St Lucia in terms of species diversity and number of birds.
“Sometimes when I drive past that river it is just black. It’s been an ongoing problem,” said Van Schoor.
Many feel the problem is a result of alleged chemical waste going into the river from surrounding industry.
However Sappi disagrees.
“The Sappi Stanger mill believes that due to low flow river conditions that are prevalent at this time of the year the bed of the river is revealed which is very dark or black in nature.
“Sappi’s effluent is non-toxic, consists mainly of chemically treated water and has regulated permissible levels for suspended solids,” said Sappi regional communications manager and spokesperson Zelda Schwalbach.
“Sappi has commissioned an independent external consultant to again conduct their regular monitoring of the Umvoti river in order to again assist the various stakeholders that impact on the river, in assessing and identifying the health of the river,” said Schwalbach, also noting that the river had been reported to be at times “soapy, grey and oily” above the mill’s discharge point.
The other major mill in the area, owned by the Gledhow Sugar Company, was also confident that its practices were well within national regulations.
“We are subject to very strict control by the department of Water Affairs. Our effluent is irrigated and we have no spillage into the river,” said Gledhow general manager Paul de Robillard.
The reasons for the decline in bird life may, however, be more complicated.
Dr Gordon O’Brien of Witwatersrand university has been studying the Umvoti river for the past 12 years and is putting his findings together in a thesis. He said that although the river does have problems in terms of purity, which are evident at times of low river flows, it is likely not the reason for the disappearance of bird life.
“The entire ecosystem has changed, the mudflats in the area have disappeared,” said O’Brien, “this has had a direct effect on the life in that area.”
According to O’Brien the disappearance of the mudflats was a process that was started in part by the infamous Demoina flood in 1984.
In addition to this, low river flow coupled with bad land practices, or in this case plantings too close to the river, can cause a build up of coarse sediment over time. This can also drastically change the ecosystem and make it inhospitable to animal life that inhabited it before.