Robin Sinclair, Table View
Can anyone please advise the reasons for the death of the reeds in these waterways at Dolphin Beach and outside the Table View soccer club and why are they not being cleared?
Johan van der Merwe, Mayoral committee member for energy, environmental and spatial planning, responds:
The reeds at Dolphin Beach Hotel are dying as a result of a vegetation management intervention, where herbicide application was used. This was done to reduce the reed growth as well as reducing seed dispersal, which was always seen as a nuisance to residents in Waves Edge.
In Typha capensis bulrush beds, there are often portions that die off standing due to reaching the end of their life cycle, and then, over time, new growth sprouts through. This is why there may be patches of “dead” reeds to the east of Marine Drive next to the soccer club. We can confirm that there was no herbicide applied in those reeds.