Water Wheel May/June 2024: Invasive Alien Species

Abstract

Alien species wreak havoc but select examples show promising solutions Hartbeespoort Dam, or Harties, as it’s known locally, is a dam that’s become as famous for its triumphs as its troubles. The 2063-hectare reservoir bears the brunt of upstream pollution but, a solution to one of the most vexing consequences was recently highlighted as an example to others in The Third National Status of Biological Invasives and their Management in South Africa report, released this March. The Hartbeespoort Dam, located in today’s North West Province, was completed in the 1920s for irrigation purposes and is one of South Africa’s largest man-made lakes. It lies in a poort in the Magaliesberg Range through which the Crocodile River cuts its course. Over the past century, Harties has fed irrigation, towns and settlements and a lively tourism scene that includes plentiful watersports and golf courses plied along its waterline.

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