Umfolozi River - Ecology

Ecology

During the 1950s, the Umfolozi Landowners Association contained and artificially channeled the river through the Monzi Flats to develop sugarcane farms. The new Umfolozi canal resulted in the unfiltered water depositing its silt load after entering the slower moving St. Lucia Estuary. This caused the estuary mouth to rapidly silt up. There had only been one record of this occurring until that time, during the sustained drought during the 1930s. At 28°20′58″S 31°58′46″E / 28.34944°S 31.97944°E / -28.34944; 31.97944 the Black Umfolozi River and the White Umfolozi River, join to form the Umfolozi.

The government started a costly dredging operation in the estuary mouth area, but it proved ineffective. After years of dredging, the next plan was to prevent the Umfolozi River from entering the St Lucia estuary. The Umfolozi River was canalized straight out to sea at Maphelana. The impact of this decision continues; the silt plume from the river is often blown by strong south winds as far north as Sodwana Bay, 100 km away. The changes threaten the coral reefs, which provide fish habitat and protect the shore. In addition, it jeopardizes the associated good snorkeling available at Cape Vidal, part of iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Scaly Yellowfish (Labeobarbus natalensis) is a fish found in the Umfolozi River System as well as in the Umzimkulu, Umkomazi, Tukhela and the Mgeni. It is a common endemic species in KwaZulu-Natal Province and it lives in different habitats between the Drakensberg foothills and the coastal lowlands.