Pumpstation fault caused Winkle fish kill
THE fish and bird kill in the Winklespruit River three weeks ago was as a result of a fault at the Kingsway 2 pumpstation.
Members of Winklespruit Surf Lifesaving Club saw hundreds of dead fish and many hundreds more dying in the lagoon in front of the clubhouse.
Inspection up-river revealed a trail of dead creatures including newly hatched Egyptian geese and cormorant chicks, along with hundreds more dead fish and even crabs. Some of the fish were around 300mm in size.
“On Saturday, 7 September, at about 3pm the pumpstation had tripped and was not operating. The mechanical and electrical superintendent investigated and found floating debris had choked the pump. The standby pump did not kick in as it was also faulty. The tripped pump was repaired within an hour and during the repairs staff noticed diesel from an unknown source had infiltrated the sumps and pumps,” said Gugu Mdlalose of Ethekwini Municipality’s communications unit.
On Sunday morning, 8 September, the reticulation pumpstation attendant called a supervisor, informing him the pump had tripped again and that an overflow had gone into a nearby stream, which flowed into the Winkle lagoon.
“Tankers were assigned to minimise river pollution along with mechanical and electrical staff who fixed the pump and replaced the faulty standby pump. A barricade was placed in the lagoon to clean out the dead fish. Diesel portable pumps were used to aerate the lagoon and the fire department used a chemical to minimise the impact of diesel on the water surface.”
“A multi-tronic ultrasonic transducer will be fitted to prevent the pumps from getting jammed with debris in future.”
Aeration of the lagoon continued on Monday, 9 September and staff monitored the site. A crust of diesel was observed on the surface of the water, which eventually dissipated.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife approved an application to open the river mouth to ensure the river was clean and safe for swimmers.
