Pollution to one of the South Africa’s most important bird areas and home to thousands of lesser flamingos near Kimberley has shown no immediate effect on the birds, a Northern Cape environmental official said on Tuesday.
”There is no immediate effect on the birds; there are no mortalities,” said Mark Anderson after an urgent meeting called by the department of environment and conservation in Kimberley over concerns for the birds.
This follows a report on human waste leaking into the Kamfers Dam, 2km north of Kimberley, and the fate of the city’s flamingos at the famous national bird-viewing and -breeding site.
”What we are trying to do is to pre-empt future effects if the water quality deteriorates further,” said Anderson.
Recently a huge artificial breeding island was built in the dam, a perennial wetland, to help the birds in terms of a proper nesting area in an undisturbed environment.
It was reported that it could become Africa’s fourth most important breeding site for lesser flamingos.
Northern Cape provincial minister of environment and conservation PW Saaiman said a committee had been formed to address the various challenges faced by the flamingos.
”We are extremely concerned about the quality and quantity of the water at Kamfers Dam,” said Saaiman.
The Kamfers Dam receives its water from the Homevale sewerage works and from Kimberley’s storm-water run-off.
It is a closed system, which means evaporation is the only natural way out for water.
Saaiman said the committee would look at the challenges in a coordinated matter and suggest possible short- and long-term solutions.
”The meeting agreed that the rapid growth Kimberley experienced in the past ten years had a direct bearing on the quality and quantity of the water in the dam.”
Saaiman said all the stakeholders, including the Sol Plaatje municipality, would report back on ways to minimise the impact soon.
Anderson said flamingo numbers at the dam were currently higher than normal, estimated at about 30 000, due to the dry conditions experienced at Sua Pan in Botswana. — Sapa