In recognition of Heritage Day 2023 TCTA hosted a Msunduzi River clean-up and water-quality testing in collaboration with the various role players in Pietermaritzburg.
triple-P, Hennops Revival, Msunduzi Municipality and the community of Pietermaritzburg collaborated on the initiative, to highlight the critical importance of rivers as part of our heritage and our future.
The Msunduzi River is well known for hosting the start of The Dusi Canoe Marathon a paddle race that covers roughly 120km between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Founded in 1951, it is the biggest canoeing event on the African continent, and one of the world’s most popular river marathons, attracting about 2000 paddlers each year.
Unfortunately, the poor state of the river has affected the marathon with some paddlers choosing to no longer participate in the sport, affecting participation in this premium event. Should the Dusi Marathon cease to exist, it will have ripple effects on the local socio-economy and the sporting career of upcoming young paddling professionals from disadvantaged communities all along the river, who have been developed over the years through this event.
The Msunduzi River is amongst the region’s most polluted, also affecting the larger Umgeni River which is the source of drinking water for Pietermaritzburg, Durban metro and towns in between. The main pollutants are sewer effluent, chemical and organic waste, and solid waste that are continually discharged into the river.
During the clean-up, the triple-P team took water samples to ascertain the health of the river and the key contributors to the pollution. Results of the testing to follow…….
The work being done by TCTA goes a long way in drawing attention to the importance of river clean-ups and effective waste and pollution management.
