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Dusi hotline to combat river pollution

20 January 2010

With hundreds of canoeists putting the final touches to their preparations for the Hansa Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon, which takes place from 21 to 23 January, environmentalists are already hailing the race a groundbreaking success, long before the first batch gets under way.

Andrew Booth of the Dusi uMngeni Conservation Trust (DUCT) is thrilled that the race has created a powerful new platform for his NGO to operate from, as it encourages each and every paddler and river-user to use the DUCT hotline – (033) 345 7571 - to report any incidents of river pollution.

"This year has been our best year ever in terms of being able to service the paddlers and communities that live in the valleys," said Booth.

'Solving one of our biggest problems'

"The exposure that we have received, and the efforts of the Powerade Race for the River to promote our hotline number to the paddlers that use the river, is actually solving one of our biggest problems - the channel of information about what is happening to the river at any given time."

"The Powerade Race for the River has been pivotal to this, and the efforts of Andrew King and Devlin Fogg to run the whole way to highlight the work we do has had a massive impact already," said Booth.

Booth is also enthusiastic about the major increase in donor funding through the Hansa Powerade Dusi Charity Batch income. "Our income from the race is up 65%, and I interpret that as paddlers grasping the importance of what we do and seeing a need to support it."

Encouragement

Booth had plenty of encouragement for King and Fogg as they set out to become the first participants to carry their kayak the entire route of the race. "It's going to tough but I am very confident in their ability to pull it off," he said.

"Go for it guys! Just keep putting one foot in front the other and I am sure you will get there," he added.

"The entire Powerade Race for the River campaign has already had a massive impact on what we do, and I get this great feeling that at last people are seeing the environment as just as big a priority as the other national imperatives."

Race favourites' support

Race favourites Ant Stott and Michael Mbanjwa have also thrown their weight behind the Powerade Race for the River attempt by King and Fogg.

"The Hansa Powerade Dusi is tough enough as it is, but what they are setting out to do is extreme," said defending K1 champion Ant Stott.

"Andrew is fortunate that he knows all the paths and trails alongside the river through his work with the Dusi Mfula mountain bike race, but it is still going to be a massive undertaking."

Stott's partner Michael Mbanjwa is a Hansa Powerade Dusi legend, having grown up in the valley close to Nagle Dam, and going on to become the first black paddler to win the race when he partnered Martin Dreyer to victory in the last doubles race in 2008.

The importance of the river

"People need to understand that the river is so important to the lives of everyone in the valley," said Mbanjwa, who now has his own homestead at Maqonqo close to the uMsindusi River, but spends most of his year as a professional athlete based in Gauteng.

"Water is everything to people in the valley," he added. "In many places taps have been put in but there is still no water, so the only water we have access to is from the river. Even though the water is boiled before it is drunk, people still get sick when the river is dirty."

"Every day water gets collected from the river for drinking, cooking, washing, and it also gets used to water the crops that feed the families in the valleys. When the quality of the water in the river drops, then it has a big effect on everyone," said Mbanjwa.

Practical support

While Stott and Mbanjwa are well prepared for their assault on the 2010 Hansa Powerade Dusi title, they are planning to lend their practical support to King and Fogg in the latter stages of each day.

"It is going to be a long tough day for these two guys, and once we have finished the race, completed all our commitments at the finish area and done our media interviews, we are hoping to drive back upriver and support them on their run," said Stott.

"If Andrew and Devlin can pull it off, it will be a huge achievement," said Mbanjwa. "I hope that they get plenty of support along the way, because they are going to need it."

"I also hope people remember why they are doing it, and that paddlers use those stickers with the DUCT hotline number, and phone it if they see any form of pollution happening in the rivers between Pietermaritzburg and Durban," he added.

SAinfo reporter