Durban - An investigation is under way to determine why dozens of fish were found dead in the Mzingazi Canal in Richards Bay, 10 days after a fire broke out at the NCT Woodchip Mill.
While a massive effort is still ongoing to extinguish the fire that started on September 30, City of uMhlathuze spokesperson Bongani Gina said that the city had been made aware of the dead fish at the canal, and that they possibly died as a result of fire-fighting operations.
Gina described this fire as unprecedented, and said it may have negative environmental effects.
“Subsequently, we have taken water samples in this area, which confirmed that the pH level was affected, as well as low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water. Currently, these fish are being sampled for further assessments to confirm the main cause of their deaths,” he said.
He added that it was further agreed upon by the municipality’s Joint Operations Centre (JOC) that water from firefighting operations should be diverted away from the canal until the safety of the fish was confirmed.
“While we acknowledge the fish deaths with concern, it should be noted that no major hazardous materials are involved in the entire operation. I can, therefore, confirm that we are following up on this, and we will do everything in our power to ensure the protection of the environment,” said Gina.
Gina also noted that NCT had enlisted the services of environmental and engineering consultants GroundTruth, who are on site.
“They are setting up sampling and testing regimes for water and sediment across the canal system and monitoring the run-off, which they are diverting and holding,” he said.
In an update on the fire on Monday, uMhlathuze deputy mayor Christo Botha said: “At this point, reports indicate that dozens of fish have died.
“Please be cautious and do not consume these fish until the outcome of the autopsies has been made public,” said Botha.
In an additional update, Botha said Samco Pumps installed two canons with a combined dumping capacity of about 5 000-6 000 litres of water per minute on the fire.
“In addition to the water canons, the water access facility ensures the uninterrupted filling of trucks while fire suppressant teams have a separate platform to access the water needed to mix their product.
“The two canons and trucks are now able to dump about 500 000 litres of water per hour on the fire, probably burning 80 litres of diesel per hour,” said the deputy mayor.
While visiting the canal on Monday, NCT general manager Danny Knoesen said the company was devastated that the fire had had an impact on the environment.
“Now that we have the fire under control it was the one fear that the smoke plume would ultimately hurt some element, and it really is quite devastating for us.
“We certainly are not shirking any responsibility and want to be involved in whatever rehabilitation is needed, and hopefully there is limited fallout,” he said.
Gary de Winnaar, senior scientist and manager at GroundTruth, said: “While we cannot comment just yet in terms of the current situation regarding the NCT fire and fish kill, we can say that GroundTruth has responded with immediate effect and is busy working closely with NCT and the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) in order to understand the extent of the problem and how best to manage associated issues in the environment.”