Impressive efforts to clean and restore water resources got underway this past week, with communities taking the lead.
The Litterboom Project, used a cleanup to show the harm caused by single-use plastic.
Their team tackled 7km upstream of the Ohlanga River, removing waste stuck under a cane road bridge (Ohlanga River), as a result of the storm.
The Ohlanga River is a mess, with blocked side streams that are heavily polluted.
“This is the real story of plastic that has an extremely limited and short-lived window of use. This is what convenience looks like.”
Elsewhere in the country, the Hartbeespoort Dam Rehabilitation Projects got underway, in partnership with Magalies Water, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Madibeng Local Municipality, stakeholders from Hartbeespoort Dam as well as residents, to clean a fraction of the dam, along the Schoemansville Oewer Club.
The cleanup was used to officially launch the Hartbeespoort Dam Rehabilitation Project.
Magalies Water board member Ms Pricilla Mashaba said, “we saw it fit today, to congregate here and unveil the Hartbeespoort Remediation Project.”
Earlier this year, Magalies Water was appointed by Government, as an implementing agent with a responsibility to primarily, eradicate the problematic water invader hyacinth, that has taken over the dam.
The appointment is part of the Water Resource Management Plan for the Crocodile West Catchment area.
The project, scheduled to end in 3 years, will be rolled out in phases, starting with Hya Matla Organics, set to remove 62 tons of debris and plant matter.
“Most importantly, the project will bring beneficiation to the local community by way of employment as well as environmental sustainability.”