About the author
Helen Crooks has been a
journalist for 36 years, acquiring
extensive experience in various
fields over this time. She has
worked as the chief sub and
night editor of both daily and
weekly newspapers, also
specialising in travel writing,
p h o t o g r a p h y, a n d w r i t i n g
weekly columns.
“One of the problems
is that the capacity of
the Kelvin Jones water
treatment works is too
small to cope with the
vast amounts of sewage
being fed into it, so
sewage is released into
the river.”
Andrew Knipe – Gamtoos
Irrigation Board
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2018
17
Fantastic work is also being done in
the surrounding catchments of Sand/
Bulk River and Van Stadens River. “The
road ahead is a difficult one and, even
though a lot of resources have been
dedicated to the fight, more needs to be
done if we are to rid our country of this
scourge,” Knipe says in conclusion. u
infrastructure
“It also increases the run-off, which
means that more water gets into the
rivers. In terms of the water hyacinth
itself, there were stretches where the
river was completely covered, and we
have managed to clear big patches,”
Jansen adds. “This is vitally important,
as communities living close to the banks
use the water directly. Also, Swartkops
has been declared a national marine
estuary, so it’s a critical part of the
ecosystem for fish breeding.”
Educating the public about the
environmental dangers posed by
invasive alien plants remains an
important aspect of the work that lies
ahead, Knipe comments. He adds,
“We have the support of many land
owners along the Swartkops River.
With their assistance, we have been
able to clear long stretches of river
from Uitenhage.”
Gamtoos Irrigation Board (GIB) project manager James Jansen (front) inspects the state of the Swartkops River,
which is under threat from the invasive alien water hyacinth. GIB manages the ongoing Working for Water clearing
project on the river. With Jansen are WfW contractors Thembinkosi Bless (left) and Dinilesizwe Jijana (right).