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RHP |
South African
River Health Programme |
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RIVERS HEALTH AWARENESS DAY
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A River Health Awareness Day hosted by Umgeni Water was held in Pietermaritzburg on 24 March 2000 to coincide with Water Week. The main aim of the awareness day was to further the objectives of the River Health Programme (RHP), and at the same time to launch the Mini SASS technique that had been developed by Umgeni Water and the KZN Nature Conservation Services. Over 100 people, comprising school groups from the Dorpspruit catchment forum, representatives from government departments, industry, NGOs and staff of Umgeni Water attended the event. |
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The RHP provincial champion for KZN, Dr Chris Dickens of Umgeni Water presented a brief overview of the new National Water Act and its requirements for monitoring the state of aquatic ecosystems. The RHP has been designed to service the requirements of the Act. The Mini SASS technique is a simplified version of SASS. SASS monitoring forms the backbone for the RHP and uses the presence or absence of invertebrate life in rivers as an indicator of the health of the river. Mini SASS has been specifically designed for school groups and others, who are not sufficiently skilled to carry out a full SASS assessment. SASS, Mini SASS, fish surveying and habitat assessments were demonstrated to the group at the confluence of the Dorpspruit and Msunduze rivers. After examining the results, the group was treated to a demonstration of the full suite of survey techniques at the Botanical Gardens, which lies close to the Dorpspruit. This time, greater emphasis was placed on Mini SASS. Dr Rob O'Donoghue of the KZN Nature Conservation Services demonstrated simple and economical ways of making Mini SASS sampling equipment, and Mr Mike Coke of KZN Nature Conservation Services gave an interesting presentation on the abundance of fish in the stream. All scores obtained from the different techniques were integrated by Mr Mark Graham of Umgeni Water. The results showed a remarkable similarity between SASS and Mini SASS scores. Schools are requested to join a national programme to monitor the health of rivers in their area, using the Mini SASS technique. A dedicated web site www.riverhealth.co.za has been set up for this purpose. Schools will be able to interact with the web site, and will be able to place their own river health data onto a map of the country, and in this way contribute to the large-scale monitoring of rivers, albeit at a low confidence level. School children will also be able to make use of the postal system to contribute and receive information. The system will become an integral part of school water and environment projects, and has been enthusiastically received by teachers who plan to make it part of their teaching curriculum. |
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Further information on the system can be obtained from:
www.riverhealth.co.za or Dr Chris Dickens and Mr Mark Graham Umgeni Water P O Box 9 Pietermaritzburg, 3200 Telephone: (033) 341 1151 Fax: (033) 341 1349 E-mail: chris.dickens@umgeni.co.za |
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Comparing SASS and Mini SASS scores There was a remarkable similarity between the SASS and Mini SASS scores, which convinced everyone of the efficacy of Mini SASS, even though sampled by school children using ice-cream box "sieves" and other improvisations! Mark Graham and Chris Dickens have completed an investigation of the validity of Mini SASS results when compared to SASS results. The findings of the investigation can be obtained directly from them and will be published soon. |