Metro spokesman Themba Gadebe says metro officials have done some spraying, but herbicide spraying is more effective when it is carried out continuously without interruption.
“In this instance, the rain disrupted the programme in a significant way,” he says.
He explains that the current hyacinth cover presents a challenge for spraying and reaching all the areas of the dam and it is not possible, in the current state, to launch boats and spray the entire dam.
• Read: Metro controls aggressive hyacinth invasion
The strategy in such situations is to combine herbicide spraying and physical removal.
“We are optimistic that with the temperatures dropping and making use of physical removal we will be able to reclaim the dam in the next few months,” he says.
This has been achieved in other lakes or dams which are far bigger in area than the Dersley dam.
• Also read: Hyacinth take over Dersley dam
“The public should understand that the management of hyacinth doesn’t have a quick fix.
“However, we reassure the public that we will have sustained interventions that will ensure that the dam has a manageable hyacinth cover in the next six months or so,” says Gadebe.
