Olifants River - Pioneering catchment wide study reaches halfway mark

Abstract

Ecosystem health I t has been a year since the Water Wheel first reported on the study of the Upper Olifants River catchment (‘ All eyes on Olifants as experts search for answers’ , the Water Wheel May/June 2010). Led by the CSIR, the study is funded by the Olifants River Forum and involves some 30 researchers from various disciplines and organisations, all focused on pinpointing the pollution sources that has earned the river its reputation as one of the most polluted in South Africa. The purpose of the study is to identify the critical variables in the Upper Olifants River and its tributaries, and to determine their thresholds by making use of a novel set of molecular techniques that provide accurate estimates of the ecosystem health in the study area. In addition to identifying the sources of different stressors, these data is particularly useful to develop and refine appropriate water quality management responses, decision making processes or remediation measures for the rivers in the Upper Olifants River catchment.

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