World Bank invests funds to restore Africa’s largest estuarine lake
The removal of material has begun to reverse the negative impacts of dredge spoil deposition.
THE total value of iSimangaliso’s Lake St Lucia restoration project is currently standing at R61.82 million. This comes after the iSimangaliso Wetland Park signed two contracts of R23.41 million each with T&T Marine (Pty) Ltd and Scribante Africa Mining (Pty) Ltd.
Both contracts are for the loading, hauling, tipping and disposal of sand from the dredge spoil island in the mouth area of the Lake St Lucia Estuary.
Quantity surveyors have confirmed that to date, 96 842 cubic metres of dredge spoil have been removed and with Phase B, a total of 1.2 million cubic metres are expected to have been removed by the end of June.
This removal of material has begun to reverse the negative impacts of dredge spoil deposition, enhancing the hydrological and ecological functioning of the 350km2 Lake St Lucia estuarine system, Africa’s largest.
“It is early days, but nature’s healing has begun. On the back of improved flows from the uMfolozi River, Lake St Lucia’s water levels have improved from 10 per cent water coverage in early 2016 and have remained at 90 per cent since November 2016, while salinities remain fresh,” said Andrew Zaloumis, CEO of iSimangaliso.
Derek Stretch, Professor of Hydraulics and Environmental Fluid Mechanics School of Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, confirmed that the work to remove the dredge spoil is significant. “It enables us to reverse some of the negative impacts of decades of dumping dredge spoil in that area and facilitates the more natural functioning of the Lake St Lucia Estuary,” he said.
A large body of research work now underpins iSimangaliso’s restoration project funded by the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility.
