ENVIRONMENT CARER of Van Riebeeck Park writes:
In recent months there has been considerable concern expressed by not only residents but ward councillors concerning the Swartspruit, which runs through several parts of Kempton Park and its environs.
Most of us have, at some time or another, encountered the foul smell emitting from the spruit, apparently due mainly to raw sewage leaking into the spruit, and had visuals of the pollution.
Travelling along Pretoria Road between Van Riebeeck Park and Birchleigh railway stations, there is a small section of the spruit visible from the road, where it emerges from beneath the railway lines (the subject of previous “foamy” photos).
What (to me, anyway) appears to have been one useful activity has been the recent dredging of this section, not only clearing silt, debris and other contaminants, but widening it so that the water can flow more easily and not “back up” due to its path being blocked by overgrown vegetation, etc.
A similar activity recently took place along another stretch of presumably the same spruit in Van Riebeeck Park, in the section of Soutpansberg Drive between De Wiekus Road and De Villiers Avenue.
Whether or not one thinks that wetlands and other natural habitats should remain just so and we should simply let nature take its course, there surely has to occasionally come a time when the municipality has to lend a helping hand to Mother Nature.
There may be an enormous difference in size between a spruit and a river, but many rivers around the world have to be regularly dredged in order to remove silt and debris and maintain a healthy water flow.
To whoever and whichever department elected to begin this dredging process, well done.
