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Walter Nyamukondiwa Kariba Bureau 

The Zambezi River Authority says a raft of control measures have been put in place to ensure high quality water in Lake Kariba and guarantee power generation.

The measures include weed and pollution control, especially of the invasive water hyacinth weed which can clog turbines at the Kariba South and North power stations if left uncontrolled.

The weeds can be seen in some hotspots along the lakeshore including Lake Harvest Harbour in Kariba and the Eastern Basin of the Lake, especially during the rainy season.

ZRA chief executive Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said discharge of raw effluent into the Lake was a major threat as it could choke aquatic life and affect the lake’s ecosystem.

The authority monitors the hyacinth weed once every month, clearing it mechanically around power station water inlet points, introduce weevils.

Chemicals are used as a last resort with the last use being in the 90s.

An assessment has shown that the weeds are mostly a result of inflows from upstream of the lake, particularly the Maramba River in Livingstone.