Review of the Hartbeespoort Dam Integrated Biological Remediation Programme (Harties Metsi a Me)
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REVIEW OF THE HARTBEESPOORT DAM INTEGRATED BIOLOGICAL REMEDIATION PROGRAMME (HARTIES METSI A ME) Report to the WATER RESEARCH COMMISISON by Dr SA Mitchell1 & Dr JG Crafford2 with contributions from Dr Martin van Veelen3, Professor Jannie Maree4, Ms Elana Reyneke2 1Eon Consulting 2Prime Africa Consultants 3Iliso Consulting 4Phillert Trust WRC Report No. KV 357/16 ISBN 978-1-4312-0803-6 July 2016 Obtainable from Water Research Commission Private Bag X03 Gezina, Pretoria 0031 SOUTH AFRICA [email protected] or download from www.wrc.org.za The publication of this report emanates from a project entitled Review of the Hartbeespoort Dam Integrated Biological Remediation Programme (Harties Metsi a Me) (WRC Project No K8/1083). DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use © Water Research Commission 2 1 Recommendations and overview 1.1 Main Recommendations The programme needs to be continued and expanded. Certain structural changes to the programme are recommended as follows: 1. The Minister should appoint a broad-based scientific committee to guide the work done within the programme. A part of the mandate of this committee would be to identify priority areas for attention. The full mandate would be decided during the early stages of the committee. A range of hypotheses are presented in this overview which may serve to direct the initial thinking of this committee. More detail is given in the report. 2. Phase 2 of the HDRP needs to focus on the catchment upstream of the dam, specifically on improving the quality of the water flowing into the dam. The waste discharge charge system has been piloted in this catchment and this provides the opportunity to implement the system. 3. Certain of the in-lake activities started in Phase 1 should be continued. But the programme should be broadened to effectively address the quality of the inflowing water in order to reduce the loading of plant nutrients. This will require increased funding. Some Methods and sources of funding are presented in the report. 4. The programme should be set within an adaptive management framework. This will provide the structure for developing the vision and translating it into achievable objectives. It will also provide for a monitoring programme focused on progress towards achieving the required objectives. 5. The social-ecological system (SES) around the dam is dynamic. Changes in the trajectories of aspects within the SES should be anticipated and where necessary incorporated into the adaptive management framework. 6. There should be a thrust of R&D and innovation within the programme. Some possible examples are given in this overview and more n the report. 7. Strategies and associated activities developed during the programme should be transferred to other eutrophic water bodies as appropriate. 8. Most importantly, the revitalization of reservoir limnology as a profession remains paramount. South Africa relies on reservoirs to balance the supply of water with the demand in the face of variable precipitation. The country needs to develop the capacity to manage these reservoirs. 9. It is recommended that the 1 mg/ℓ P standard for effluents discharged into designated sensitive catchments by wastewater treatment works be reviewed in the light of the capabilities of modern technology. 10. It is recommended that a stakeholder forum be established. 11. It is recommended that that a full-time financial officer be appointed and that annual internal audits be conducted. More recommendations are given in the report. 1.2 Overview The Hartbeespoort Dam is a complex system that, in practice, integrates the activities in the catchment upstream. These activities include urbanization, industrial developments, mining agriculture and recreation. These activities have been increasing over the 90 year life of the dam. 3 Hartbeespoort Dam is also the centre of a hub of economic activity both cantered on the dam and including water users downstream. Dams are built to store water for times when the natural availability is insufficient to supply the need, so the water level is expected to fluctuate. Hartbeespoort Dam has, however, been kept at or close to full supply level since 1996 as a result of the increasing inter-basin transfer (IBT) from the Vaal catchment as Rand Water has supplied an increasing urban and industrial demand in the northern parts of its supply area. This enters the dam as return flows from urban and industrial activities. It follows that the quality of this water is dependent in part on the effectiveness of the wastewater treatment works in treating the effluent. There are, however, two other factors which play a part in the quality of water entering the dam. The first of these is the sheer volume. Between 1985 and 2010/11 the volume of water flowing into the dam annually increased from 233.5 Mm3 (NIWR, 1985) to 534 Mm3 (HDRP, 2013a). Even with the high quality effluent from the larger works in the catchment the load of nutrients entering the dam is substantial and increases proportionately with the increase in the IBT. The second factor is the level of maintenance of infrastructure with a substantial contribution of nutrients coming from poorly maintained sewerage infrastructure. The dam is a phosphorous sink and it is estimated that between 1999 and 2012 in excess of 3 000 tons of total phosphorous (TP) has accumulated in the dam (HDRP, 2012a). 1.3 Achievements of Phase 1 Phase 1 of the Hartbeespoort Dam Bio-Remediation Programme (HDRP) started in 2006 and the period of the review ended in 2013 which is a short period in the life of the dam. There have been a number of successes during Phase 1. These include, for instance, the large scale hyacinth and other alien plant removal with the beneficiation of this biomass, the testing of floating reed bed systems which increase the biodiversity and biomass of the open water, a fisheries programme and the clearing of debris from the system. In addition, the zone of sediment in which the P is concentrated has been mapped and pilot-scale dredging has been carried out. A number of jobs have been created. The lack of scientific rigour in certain of the aspects such as the quantity of P removed by the floating islands, algal harvesting and fishery mean that the results cannot, at this stage, be used for projecting the effectiveness of these activities in managing the eutrophication of the dam. Estimates of this are, however, given in the report. 1.4 Changes foreseen There are some changes to the system which can be foreseen. Amongst these is the fact that the return flows will continue to increase as a result of the increase in urbanisation. This will, in turn, increase the nutrient load into the system. There are various proposals for polishing the inflowing water to reduce the phosphate concentration beyond current levels. The use of acid mine drainage (AMD) is one option and is discussed briefly below and in detail in the report. Another effect of the increase in urbanization is the increase in hard surfaces which will alter the hydrology of the system. Another change which cannot be avoided is the increase in the AMD decanting into the system. This will need to be managed in a way that does not impact the system, or reduces impacts to a minimum. A far-reaching change which is foreseen is that the water level is going to undergo annual fluctuations once water from the dam is being released to the Lephalale industrial development node. These fluctuations will vary from year to year but will potentially be large. In addition, although the provision of water for irrigation is not expected to increase much, it is anticipated that the provision of water for mining purposes will increase. The DWS has, through 4 the WRCS, gazetted certain environmental quality policy imperatives for the system, and these need to be implemented in future. In addition there are emerging hazards such as climate change which need to be taken into account. 1.5 Questions and hypotheses Work done during Phase 1 has raised some questions and also led to the development of some hypotheses. These need to be tested. One question is the fate of the phosphate in the dam. While the annual load of P flowing into the dam was highest between 2007 and 2010, the phosphate concentration in the water declined from 2007/08. This was mirrored by a decline in chlorophyll-a over the same period. The question is, where was the P sequestered? Two decades of stable lake level has created conditions allowing the establishment of a filamentous algal mat and rooted hydrophytes. The hypotheses are (a) that the establishment of the algal mat and rooted hydrophytes armour the nutrient-rich littoral sediments against resuspension by wave action and (b) these effectively sequester nutrients from the water body, so reducing the likelihood of algal blooms. The projected lake level fluctuations give rise to questions which have led to the formulation of three hypotheses. The first (a) is that the P in exposed and rewetted sediments will be temporarily immobilized; (b) pollutants in exposed and rewetted sediments will be mobilized and (c) that the drying and rewetting of hyacinth seeds will stimulate their germination. Over the life of the dam heavy metals and pollutants have accumulated in the sediment. Will the dredging remobilize these? The NIWR study indicated that the energy pathway in Hartbeespoort Dam had shifted form phytoplankton – zooplankton – fish to phytoplankton – decomposers.