JOHANNESBURG ZOO CELEBRATES WORLD WETLANDS DAY 2 FEBRUARY WITH ITS VERY OWN WETLAND 

Johannesburg, February 2, 2005

A wetland system filters impurities out of a water system biologically. The Braamfontein Spruit flows through Johannesburg and 2 tributaries, one from the South and the other from the East meet each other in Johannesburg Zoo. A huge amount of dirt and pollution is present, to which the Zoo’s organic rich water is added. This causes a problem when the water eventually reaches Zoo Lake on the other side of Jan Smuts Avenue. 

Johannesburg Zoo has played a major role in the cleansing of the water before it flows into Zoo lake and then further on. A Wetland system was constructed that consists of a sieve tank to collect large pollutants, a catchment tank for smaller pollutants which sink to the bottom and is then pumped out to the City sewer system, and water is then allowed to flow to the 3 wetland reed bed ponds. The reeds are planted in row formation to maximize the natural biological filtration process. Water is allowed to flow from one bed to another, through gravel layers to further cleanse it.

Fish and bacteria have been released to feed off the nutrients in the water. A large number of free-flying birds have settled into the area and creates a fantastic display in the Zoo. The beauty of this system is that it does certainly clean the water to such an extent that it is fit for human consumption, it attracts birds, insects and other wildlife, and the water flowing into Zoo lake has been cleaned from the accumulated pollutants. The next project will be to redirect the flow of some of the water back into the Zoo. We will save a considerable amount of money with the implementation of this project.

Education information boards are available in the Zoo and at Zoo Lake for more information or contact the Education Department of Johannesburg Zoo at 646-2000.

Do make a point to visit our extensive bird collection, both resident and free flying. We host a large number of waterfowl, cranes and storks – species that are sensitive to changes in wetland systems.

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