Affected stakeholders have called on authorities to stamp out the invasive water hyacinth at Inanda Dam, which has led to events being cancelled and affecting water quality.
Fishermen, farmers and local residents raised concerns about the aquatic plant with Umgeni Water Board and Msinsi Holdings — a resorts management company — during a special stakeholder meeting at Inanda Dam on Monday.
According to the board, water hyacinth has affected its stakeholders, particularly affecting sporting activities and the community at large.
It has also increased the death of livestock and threatened surrounding vegetable gardens.
In June, Umgeni Water estimated that 30% of the upper part of Inanda Dam was covered with the water hyacinth
The free-floating aquatic plant can spread rapidly in still or slow-moving freshwater.
According to Umgeni Water, the plant reduces water quantity in water resources by consuming a lot of it, deteriorates water quality and clogs waterways.
The plant also interrupts recreational activities such as boating, swimming and fishing, and poses a threat to biodiversity as they spread faster than indigenous plants, hampering their growth.
Dusi Canoe Marathon organising committee member said there are a lot of activities relating to the marathon — over three days between Pietermaritzburg and Durban — that are affected by the water hyacinth.
With the chemical spray, we have done the risk assessment with Umgeni Water, and we have applied to the department of water and sanitation for an aerial spray to continue.
— KZN department of fishery, forestry and the environment's Ryan Brudvig
“Development programmes are happening on the dam and several pre-race events that normally take place down the river are all affected,” he said.
Chairperson of Major Bass fishing club Ken Ground said they have decided not to come back to the dam until the issues have been sorted out.
Ground said due to the impact of the water hyacinth, they have suffered a serious loss of revenue at their club, as their members are unable to fish in the dam.
“This dam is home to many people, we love this place, and I think it’s sad to see what is happening to it.
“The delay in doing something to sort this out has led to us being here today as hyacinth has bloomed out of control. As a club, we have a year-end function that was due to be held here, but unfortunately, it has been cancelled,” said Ground.
South African Bass Angling Association’s Bryan Leppan said the meeting with stakeholders was long overdue, as they had also cancelled and moved events due to the plant.
Leppan called for an urgent solution, whether it was chemical spraying from a drone or helicopter, or manual removal across the shore.
Sanele Vilakazi, from Umgeni Water Board, said the recent flood event has increased the impact and spread of the plant.
Vilakazi said the water hyacinth can produce 3,000 seeds per plant and lie off the shores of the dams for several years waiting to germinate and spread again.
He said the plant moves quickly and consumes a lot of water, affecting recreational activities.
He said one intervention was to install a barrier in the upper part of the dam to prevent its spread.
KZN department of fishery, forestry and the environment’s natural resource management regional manager, Ryan Brudvig, said a budget had been set to deal with the issue.
“With the chemical spray, we have done the risk assessment with Umgeni Water, and we have applied to the department of water and sanitation for an aerial spray to continue.
“There are concerns that if we spray the whole day, the water quality will deteriorate. So we are not going to do it everywhere, but in some areas, it will be just manual control,” said Brudvig.
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