Family use lockdown time to clear river of hyacinth
Patch of Nahoon benefits from tireless efforts to clear invasive weed
Dorchester Heights resident Kate Roodt and her family have spent much of their lockdown time working to rid the Nahoon River of Brazilian water weed, also known as water hyacinth.
The invasive plant has plagued the river for years, depleting it of oxygen and nutrients and choking up the river’s ecosystems.
Dubbed their “lockdown project”, Roodt and her family have successfully removed a dense mass of water hyacinth from a portion of the river stretching more than 150m along their property in Snow Water Drive.
“We have been clearing the river in stages. It has been an ongoing process to clear the stretch of river in front of our plot as well as quite some distance on either side. We felt motivated because it has remained clear in the areas we’ve worked on,” said Roodt.
She said they had used their exercise hours between 6am and 9am every day during lockdown level 4 to clear the river, using homemade tools including gaffs, rakes and nets.
“We pull the hyacinth out — the entire plant, its roots and sometimes rotting plant matter which lies below the surface. The result is piles of hyacinth on the banks of the river to be left in the sun to wither and dry up. This allows the pile to shrink and decompose over time,”
Roodt said.
Roodt’s parents, Charlene and Vernon, bought their plot in 2016 and have been landscaping and beautifying the area ever since.
“We officially moved into our home in March 2017. The hyacinth has always been an issue. We believe BCM poisoned it just before we moved here as it [the river] was pretty clear at that time, but soon [the hyacinth] came back with a vengeance,” Roodt said.
Charlene said it took hours to remove the hyacinth, but it was worthwhile work.
Roodt said: “It’s so rewarding to see the wildlife that inhabits the area returning. There are ducks, otters, leguaan, a fish eagle and more that reside or hunt here.
“The rivers are like earth’s arteries and the hyacinth and other invasive weeds are clogging them. We would like to see the stretch from our place to the causeway totally hyacinth-free and restored to its glory. Maintaining the cleared river would be easier once we have removed the plant and can monitor the water on a raft.”
Fellow Dorchester Heights resident Leanne Burger came across the family’s endeavours during one of her morning runs and decided to join in.
“I’ve been living in Dorchester [Heights] for 10 years and the hyacinth is a huge problem. The biggest issue is the sewage in the water. It is growing much faster because of the sewage, ” said Burger.
Nahoon River Estuary Forum chair Christo Theart said the efforts of Roodt and her family were a huge help but alone they would not keep the river free of the invasive weed forever.
“It will keep coming back because of the nutrients in the water. Water hyacinth thrives because of the nutrients from the sewage spilling into the river,” said Theart.
He said both chemical and biological control methods had been used on the plant previously, but only continued efforts would help to control it.
“The department of environmental affairs has sprayed herbicide before and Rhodes University released a fly that acts as a biological control. There has been some success with the fly, but it is an ongoing project that requires time,” Theart said.
“Regular maintenance is the only way to control it.”