The pilot project for the long term removal of sediment from the Crocodile River inlet into the Hartbeespoort Dam, as part of the Harties Metsi a Me Programme, started on Monday and is due to be completed tomorrow. This is the next step in implementing an operational project which seeks to assess ways of improving the quality of the dam water.
According to a statement by the Hartbeespoort Dam Remediation Programme, also known as the Harties Metsi A Me programme, sediment in the dam acts as a recharge of nutrients for hyacinth and algae reproduction. “Assessing the impact of dredging will enable the pro-gramme to design a more accurate long term and cost effective implemen-tation of sediment removal and management,” the statement said. A pilot dredging operation has been developed to extract small quantities of sediment at three locations in the Crocodile River and the dam. The dredged material is contained in spe-cially developed ponds on the pro-perties of Roos se Oord and Oberon where various tests will be carried out on the material and on the dredging process itself.
The teams spent two days dredging at each point, namely at the Crocodile River inlet, the Moganwe River confluence and the train bridge at Oberon, while the rest of the six days were used for moving the equip-ment between the different points. The operation was carried out during working hours in order to limit the inconvenience to residents and boaters.
As part of the pilot project the team measured the impact on residents and the surrounding area and according to the statement this was to properly determine the extent of the potential impacts at present and in the future to this area. “Depending on the data obtained through these initial activities, further dredging may be required as part of the pilot project,” the statement said.
( kormorant )
[mappress]
Source: kormorant, August 20, 2010;