A joint task team established by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) have identified immediate short- and long-term interventions with clear outcomes to manage the clearing of alien invasive plants at the Vaal river.

Last month, Rand Water started an integrated programme, including physical removal, chemical control and biological control, to clear the water lettuce currently overwhelming the Vaal Barrage.

Shortly thereafter, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy and Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu issued a joint statement in response to public concerns over the use of glyphosate, the chemical used to clear alien invasive plants from the Vaal river.

At the time, they noted that a task team would be established to determine whether the clearing methods followed were in line with the regulatory environment and to devise a future plan that ensured that the clearing of the alien invasive plants was done in a manner that posed no harm to the environment.

The technical task team, led by the directors general of the two departments and Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai, identified immediate short-term interventions that include the revision of the integrated control approach, which will assess the use of a herbicide that is registered with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

Multiple control strategies deployed simultaneously are currently under investigation by the task team since a sustainable solution is required to manage the situation and the spraying of glyphosate in the Vaal river has been suspended.

In the medium term, compliance and enforcement interventions will be intensified against the sources of pollution which led to the invasion, while long-term interventions include a review of the Vaal River Catchment Strategy relating to invasive alien aquatic species to implement a strategy that will holistically address the situation.

Further, the refurbishment of the Rietspruit, Sebokeng and Leeukuil wastewater treatment works will be fast-tracked to reduce the pollution that is also contributing to the high eutrophication of the Vaal River System.