Workers clearing Roodeplaat Dam hyacinth by hand have Mzansi worried
A TikTok of a worker pulling water hyacinth out of Roodeplaat Dam by hand has passed 166,000 views, with viewers worried about safety and the state of the dam.
A short TikTok from Roodeplaat Dam in Tshwane shows a worker standing at the water's edge, pulling water hyacinth out with a hand tool while a thick green mat of the plant stretches across the dam behind her. News page @newsnexussa posted the clip on 9 November, and it has been watched about 166,000 times.
According to Briefly, the man filming says the hyacinth keeps growing because sewage and effluent flow into the dam, so clearing it by hand only helps for a while. The clip doesn't say who the workers are employed by.
Hyacinth at Roodeplaat is not new. The Mail & Guardian reported in 2021 that the plant covered more than 65% of the dam during the 2020 lockdown, fed by nutrients from poorly treated wastewater. In a 2025 parliamentary reply, the water and sanitation minister said non-compliant effluent from the Zeekoegat wastewater works was reaching the dam and was being investigated by the City of Tshwane and Rand Water.
What the comments are saying
@vukuz473:
"This is dangerous" (327 likes)
@donnywalker778:
"Dangerous. Do the workers even know how to swim, no life jackets??? Don't put human lives at risk for pr." (273 likes)
@tshappy_:
"Please come to Lakeside Benoni ðŸ˜" (80 likes)
@sizwe_252:
"This Kind Of Dam is Dangerous😳" (24 likes)
@tsonono16:
"Same thing with Haartebeespoort dam" (19 likes)
@shady_lindz:
"There is a machine that china manufactures that clears this hyacinth. It is effective governement must invest in it......" (10 likes)
@madtitannn:
"no crocs?" (8 likes)
@cbd_capetown:
"I dont think people understand how bad that stuff is. ðŸ˜" (7 likes)
Video and image: @newsnexussa on TikTok.