Much-needed rains replenish Lake St Lucia

AFTER what has been reported as the driest year since 1920, leaving 90% of Lake St Lucia dry, billions of litres of water entered the system following recent rains, with the 50km-long main body of Lake St Lucia receiving its first influx of fresh Mfolozi River water in six months.

‘Between 12 and 14 March, some 6.2 billion litres of fresh water entered the Lake St Lucia system, following rains both in the catchment areas and locally.

This amounts to an average of 2.5 billion litres per day and provides an important buffer against the possibility of continued low rainfall over the next six months.

Given that 60% of Lake St Lucia’s fresh water comes from the Mfolozi River, these are the first significant flows of water into the system since December 2015 and it is hoped that some of the negative impacts of the drought will be reduced,’ said iSimangaliso CEO Andrew Zaloumis.

However, in keeping with the interim court order issued last year, iSimangaliso was notified by UCOSP (Umfolozi Sugar Planters Ltd) it should begin the process of breaching the river out to sea as water levels had reached 1.2msl at the Cotcane measuring gauge.

This figure was agreed upon by both parties prior to the issuing of the court order which took effect in October and will remain in place until mid-May.

In a statement issued in January, UCOSP stated its members have incurred substantial cost in assisting iSimangaliso management by excavating the beach channel that iSimangaliso had not itself prepared, as well as suffering financial losses in crop damages owing to repeated back-flooding.

UCOSP said the back-flooding is a direct result of iSimangaliso management not effectively managing the transfer of Mfolozi River water into Lake St Lucia.

UCOSP initiated High Court proceedings in August to seek legal clarity on the back-flooding situation. Both parties will present detailed arguments in the High Court, for which 19 May has been set as the date.