ESTUARINE MANAGEMENT: No dredging at Lake St Lucia mouth — DFFE clarifies deputy minister’s comments

Dredging machines are set to be deployed in the Msunduzi River within the next few months to clear blockages of vegetation and muddy sediments that have led to the back-flooding of sugarcane farms in the vicinity of Lake Lucia and the iSimangaliso World Heritage Park in KwaZulu-Natal.The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) issued this clarification after Narend Singh, the deputy minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment, sparked confusion during a recent visit to the iSimangaliso Wetland Park when he announced plans to begin dredging the St Lucia estuary mouth, “hopefully by the end of September”. Narend Singh, the deputy minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment. (Photo: Misha Jordaan / Gallo Images) In a video clip posted by his department, Singh said the government had engaged with the park authority to fund a project that would ensure that “the mouth of the estuary is dredged and that water from the sea gets into the estuary to preserve the ecology”. His reference to dredging and allowing saltwater into the estuary suggested there were plans to artificially breach the mouth of Lake St Lucia estuary, which shares a common mouth with the Mfolozi and Msunduzi rivers. An aerial view of the Mfolozi River floodplain, showing the location of flooded sugarcane farms in relation to the mouth of Lake St Lucia (top right) and the lower reaches of the Msunduzi River (marked in red). (Image: Bosch Projects / NOAA) The DFFE has now clarified that Singh was referring to the Msunduzi Hydrological Restoration Project, which had been authorised following an environmental impact assessment.The department confirmed that there was no current authorisation for dredging the Mfolozi River and that “the authorised works should therefore not be interpreted as dredging of the Lake St Lucia mouth. [The] authorised physical works are confined to the approved Msunduzi project area.” An amphibious dredger clears a river blocked by vegetation. (Photo: Bosch Projects report) The management of water flow in the lake mouth has been the subject of controversy for decades due to the artificial separation of the Mfolozi/Msunduzi river mouths from the Lake St Lucia mouth in 1952 and subsequent artificial breaching to reduce sediments flowing into the St Lucia system and the back-flooding of stormwater into nearby sugarcane fields.A series of maps showing the steady disappearance of wetland areas (grey shading) in the Mfolozi River floodplain due to sugarcane farming, drainage and canalisation. (Maps: Grenfell et al / iSimangaliso specialist report) That management policy changed sharply when Lake St Lucia virtually dried up because of a lack of water in the early 2000s, and in 2015 the three river mouths were reunited to improve freshwater flow into the lake. On the advice of several estuarine experts, it was decided to ensure “minimum human interference” in natural processes in the future.The lake mouth was nevertheless breached artificially in 2021, raising questions about the commitment of park managers to the new minimum interference policy.Earlier this year, estuarine researchers Dr Ricky Taylor, Professor Alan Whitfield, Professor Janine Adams and Caroline Fox called for a “reassessment” of the largely hands-off management policy of managing the lake and its mouth. They also called for the resumption of artificial breaching of the estuary mouth, if the mouth remains closed for more than three years. However, other estuarine researchers (including Dr Anthony Forbes and Nicolette Forbes) are committed to limited human interference in the system, and Nicolette Forbes will present a lecture in Durban this week to outline these views.Estuarine expert Nicolette Forbes will deliver a public lecture on the restoration of Lake St Lucia at the Westville Country Club Shed at 6.30pm on Thursday, 23 July. (Photo: Supplied) According to the DFFE, the new dredging operations in the Msunduzi River are scheduled to begin in September, subject to procurement processes, the appointment of contractors and compliance with all conditions of the environmental authorisation. DM