ECO WATCH: The war against Hyacinth at Rust de Winter Dam

Words: Gys Prinsloo, Project Manager: Eco-Care Trust  IMAGES:  Volunteers

It is widely believed that hyacinths were introduced to the Elands river system that feeds Rust De Winter Dam by boats that were launched at Montle Metsi River Resort which were carrying plants or seeds. This has not been proven and it might as well have been seeds stuck to a duck’s legs.

Eco-Care Trust have been involved with managing the hyacinths in cooperation with Deon Geldenhuys from Montle Metsi since 2022 when I met Bernard Venter on the water during one such operation. Since then, I have been there under the auspices of Eco-Care to remove plants on my own many times. During March 2024, the hyacinths were under control with mainly Hippo Island still having plants.

I visited Rust De Winter dam on 16 September 2024 and found that there were lots of hyacinths in the river section with some plants close to the entrance to the heads connecting the river to the main dam. I removed what I could but not nearly enough.

On 11 November I noticed a post on a Facebook fishing group about how the hyacinths have spread and infested the river system.

Eco-Care Trust realized that if we do not jump in and do something about it, we would be facing a catastrophe!

The main issue

The problem isn’t as much the river, as it is the threat of hyacinths passing through the heads and entering the “Salad Bowl”. Once in there, it would be impossible to remove them by any means as the water is too shallow for boats, too much water grass and vegetation, too many crocodiles and hippos for getting into the water, and too vast to control. This is evident in the areas surrounding Hippo Island that resembles the foliage of the Salad Bowl.

The Salad Bowl is an exceptional bird and fish breading area that would be decimated if it were to be invaded by these hyacinths. 

The operation

With the help of volunteers, Eco-Care Trust held a hyacinth clean-up operation on 14 December 2024.

Deon from Montle Metsi provided accommodation while Ms Precious Mohlala, who is the Rust De Winter Dam/Nature Reserve Manager, allowed participants access through the park to launch our boats.

We knew we were going to have to do some work but didn’t think it would be too bad as statements that were made, made me believe that the situation was brought under control. 

What a shock! It was the worst I have ever seen in this river and we concluded that we had our work cut out.

Ms Precious joined me and Bernard on the boat and helped us drain and bag the plants that we took out. The team of 7 boats worked relentlessly and people’s true colours came to the front with dedication and work ethics in abundance.

Some of us took the risk of getting into the crocodile invested waters and reaching into the reeds to remove every single plant that we could see. However, it was impossible to clean everything because of the wide spread of the plants and limited time. And to be honest, we were done for!

Plastic SA is a proud sponsor of the Eco-Clean Project that is run by Eco-Care Trust to promote cleaning of dams and camping areas. We used their donated yellow plastic bags to place the hyacinths in that was taken out. At one stage, our boat had 13 full bags on it and Bernard couldn’t even see where he was driving the boat.

The operation was a tremendous success with about 55 bags full of plants removed. 

The way forward

It is unfortunate to say that we were not even able to remove half of the plants and follow-up operations with continuous maintenance operations monthly would have to be implemented. 

The situation at Rust De Winter Dam is completely different from dams like Hartbeespoort or Bronkhorstspruit where the hyacinths forms islands of plants covering large areas of the dam. No, here the water quality is great, and the plants can still be controlled if maintained correctly. The plants are scattered along the river in between the reeds and taking them out is cumbersome and hard manual labour. 

We saw evidence of herbicides (weedkillers) that were used without the knowledge or approval of the reserve to which this area belongs, affecting other indigenous plants which should not be targeted. Because of the unique problem faced here, weedkillers would not be the best of solutions. 

Over the long run, biological means through the establishment of a Megamulus (hyacinth bugs) breading station and the deployment of them in difficult to manage areas, like Hippo Island, would show greater results through attacking the source of the plants that spread with the ebb and flow of the water and wind.

Manual labour remains the quickest and most effective method in controlling most of the areas to confine the problem to Hippo Island. This is difficult to implement as paid workers do not understand the consequences of leaving a single plant behind.

It is unfortunately a fact that we cannot rely on government to intervene. It would be up to us as nature lovers to volunteer our time and services to protect our waters.

Thanks

A heartfelt letter of appreciation by Ms Precious Mohlala, the Rust De Winter Dam/Nature Reserve Manager, is attached in which she expresses her gratitude to Eco-Care Trust and all the volunteers that participated.

Eco-Care Trust would also like to thank everybody that was willing to come and assist at such short notice in making this event a great success. We made new friends and had a great time working together. We will be calling on you for the next operation early in the New Year.

Sad news

With the water level at its current level, Montle Metsi River Resort has closed its gates till further notice.

Eco-Care Trust

Initiated in 1995, Eco-Care Trust is a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) and Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with the mission to conserve our freshwater aquatic ecosystems.

Eco-Care Trust do so much more than only taking out nets and hyacinths. Please follow us on our Facebook page for all our activities.

Eco-Care Trust is dependent on donations and contributions to enable us to do such operations. Financial contributions and donations can be made by any company or person. Companies are welcome to sponsor specific operations. 

Let’s protect what’s ours. Eco-Care Trust: Caring for water.

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