Another clean-up needed at Hennops
Over 11 tonnes of waste was removed during a clean-up operation at the weekend, but now, another clean-up was necessary.
Recent rains have brought more than traffic disruptions and stuck motorists to Centurion. It has also brought a deluge of rubbish floating down the Hennops River.
“We pulled about 11 tonnes of garbage from the river on Saturday and, after some more rain, another 11 tonnes on Tuesday,” said Hennops Revival founder Tarryn Johnston told Rekord on Tuesday.
“Sunday’s rainfall has taken us back to where we started. It’s like we were never even there.” Johnston, however, said “this is no surprise”.
ALSO READ: Hennops river clean-up yields 11 tons of filth
“I’m confident enough to make an educated guess that during the rainy season more than 11 tonnes of rubbish will come down here every time it rains. And this is just one collection point,” she said.
This was unfortunately only the proverbial drop in the ocean. “Unfortunately, there are hundreds of such points. “This is why it is so important to keep the grid clean, especially during rainy season,” she said.
This comes after Johnston, on Monday, said over 11 tonnes of waste were removed during a clean-up on Saturday morning.
ALSO READ: Hennops River activists prepare for coming rainy season
“We had 50 people remove 452 bags of waste which equates to 11 300kg removed from the Hennops,” she said. The hefty pile of waste, however, did not include tree stumps, other organic matter, tyres and dead dogs. Johnston noted it was a “day well spent with the most incredible mapmakers and way-showers”.
The weekend’s clean-up efforts were partially necessitated by a bout of rain early last week. “After one downpour on Monday [last week], an inconceivable amount of waste came downstream,” she said.
“As the water level rose and the flow of the water increase, anything that was stuck at any place upstream got dislodged and was washed down.
“Most of it gets stuck again as the level drops and the flow rate returns to normal,” Johnston said.
She also noted it was important to keep the biggest litter trap clean as it the rainy season was upon them. “We not only expect rain, but, realistically, more rubbish too,” Johnston said.
She extended her gratitude to all the volunteers and friends of the Hennops who had come out, extended a helping hand and given up their time for the cause. Last month Johnston said so-called “dead water” was discovered at the river. “Sadly, but not surprisingly, no life was found in the Hennops water – it was completely black and dead,” she said.
This was after they joined forces with Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots, who conducted a Mini-Sass experiment to determine river health on #WordCleanupDay2020.
“They, however, went through to Bronberrick spruit and collected samples which were full of life,” Johnston said, adding the dissolved oxygen level in Bronberrick was 3,3 while Hennops was 1.
ALSO READ: ‘Dead water’ discovered at Hennops River clean-up
She also extended gratitude to their sponsors. “I’m also grateful to the phenomenal human beings who ensure that days like these run smoothly, have everything available, clean, sorted, structured and organised along with getting down and dirty,” Johnston said.
Even though experts predicted wetter-than-usual so-called La Niña conditions for South Africa this December to February, the SA Weather Service predicted mostly sunny weather for Centurion this coming weekend, with a maximum temperature of 31°C on Sunday.
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