Magalies Water says it has a bold rehabilitation programme to rid Hartbeespoort Dam of invasive plants and algae by June next year. The water utility has been appointed as a service provider to deal with hyacinth plants and algae that have deteriorated the dam’s biosphere.
Water Minister Senzo Mchunu, who was also in Harties to commemorate the Dam’s 100th birthday, says he knows the culprits responsible for the dam’s deterioration and is in the process of dealing with them.
Hartbeespoort Dam was officially opened in 1923. It is situated 35 kilometers from Johannesburg and 20 kilometers from Pretoria making it one of the popular holiday spots in Gauteng.
“It’s a milestone celebrating the dam, its structural integrity is still intact and it contributes to tourism in the North West province,” says Mchunu.
Despite Harties falling under the Madibeng Municipality, which is a Setswana name meaning a place of water. Madibeng residents have been struggling to access clean water for a long while.
However, Minister Mchunu says this will soon be a thing of the past. “Water shortages in the Madibeng municipality will be a thing of the past. They have launched 27 projects which are expected to tackle challenges associated with water in North West.”
Algae and hyacinth are a recurring problem in the dam, at one point resulting in the death of the carp fish and other organisms due to lack of oxygen. Water Utility Magalies Water says the dam should be free of Algae and Hyacinth by June of next year.
“This is a symptom of something wrong upstream. There are too many chemicals that make it conducive for the development of algae and hyacinth. As Magalies water we have a programme specifically designed for Harties and the water should be cleared by June,” says Prof Vhahangwele Masindi, Harties Rehabilitation project manager.
Holidaymakers were happy to be part of the milestone at Harties.
“I’m happy to be sharing my birthday with Harties,” a holidaymaker says.
“It’s not just a destination for us it’s also international so we should tackle the state of the dam,” another holidaymaker explains.
Mchunu says his next move will be to tackle the root cause of the invasive plants’ challenge at Harties.
