ORIGINAL STORY: Amcor Dam faces ecological crisis
Describing the situation as a ‘simple problem but complex to solve’, conservationist Angus Burns believes the municipality needs to invest in fixing the problems first.
None of his proposed solutions are a quick fix.
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If any plans can save Amcor Dam and the Ncandu River from certain death, Burns says it is critical to
identify all point sources of pollution into the river system.
“The municipality will need a spatial planner to look at the entry and exit points of the river. There will need to be chemical sampling of the river course to find where pollution takes place and if it is constant.”
By identifying any contamination, be it a burst sewage pipe or pollution from industry, stopping this inflow will ‘starve’ the system of phosphates and other fertilisers.
Only then should the reeds and growth be removed.
“The other route is the enforcement of the by-laws because you have people throwing engine oil into the river. These offences must be punished in terms of the by-laws.”
A third aspect to the problem and its solution is illegal dumping.
Stating this is also not enforced by the municipality, Burns mentioned an incident where an establishment owner was dumping into a trench and directing a sewage line into a wetland area.
In this instance the municipality did intervene.
This was not often the case, he states, as proven by the frequency of sewage mains lines leaching effluent into certain areas.
“Until the municipality handles these, the problem will persist.”
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