Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=1816-795020100003&lang=en vol. 36 num. 3 lang. en http://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.za http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This paper describes the development of a steady-state anaerobic digestion model for biological sulphate reduction using primary sewage sludge (PSS) as substrate. The model comprises: a chemical oxygen demand (COD) based hydrolysis kinetics part in which the PSS biodegradable COD and sulphate removals are calculated for given hydraulic and sludge retention times; a C, H, O, N, P, S, COD and charge mass balance stoichiometry part in which the alkalinity generated (from both the HCO3- and HS-) is determined from the COD and sulphate removals; and an inorganic carbon (CO2) and sulphide mixed weak acid/base chemistry part in which the digester pH is calculated from the HCO3- and HS- species formed. From the stoichiometry, it was found that the PSS is carbon limited in that it does not generate sufficient HCO3- alkalinity for the sulphate reduction, i.e., its COD/C ratio is too high which accounts for the observed zero gas (CO2) generation. The H2S/HS- system provides the alkalinity shortfall and establishes the system pH. Once developed and calibrated, the model results were compared with experimental data from 2 laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactors (operated at 35ºC and 20°C respectively) fed PSS and sulphate. The predicted COD and sulphate removals, alkalinity and digester pH correspond very well to the measured data. The model assists in identifying design and operation parameters sensitive to the system and provides a basis for developing an integrated biological, chemical and physical process dynamic model. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en A 2-phase (aqueous-gas) kinetic model for biological sulphate reduction (BSR) using primary sewage sludge (PSS) as carbon source is presented. The methanogenic anaerobic digestion (AD) model of Sötemann et al. (2005) is extended by adding the biological, chemical and physical processes associated with BSR, i.e. propionic acid degrading sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB), acetoclastic SRB and hydrogenotrophic SRB, the aqueous weak acid/base chemistry processes of the sulphate and sulphide systems and an aqueous-gas sulphide exchange process. The model is validated with experimental data from 2 upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors fed various PSS COD/SO4(2-) ratios under constant flow and load conditions at 35°C and 20°C. The kinetic model results, including the reactor pH (within 0.1 pH unit) compare well with the experimental results and with those calculated from a steady-state BSR model. The kinetic model confirms that: (1) at ambient temperature (20°C), the hydrolysis rate is significantly reduced compared with that at 35°C, which requires a longer sludge age (larger bed volume) in the UASB reactor; (2) the hydrolysis rate of the PSS biodegradable particulate organics (BPO) is the same under methanogenic and sulphidogenic conditions; (3) the PSS BPO are carbon deficient for BSR in that more electrons are donated than carbon supplied for the required alkalinity increase, with the result that the sulphide system supplies the alkalinity deficit; and (4) due to (3) there is zero CO2 gas generation and in effect the sulphide system establishes the reactor pH. This observation allows the carbon content of the utilised organics to be determined from the H2CO3* alkalinity increase in the reactor, which can be simply measured by titration methods. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Marine fish-processing plants often use seawater during their operations. Chlorination and UV are commonly used for disinfection of this water but may not be effective in preventing biofilm formation within the water distribution network. These biofilms negatively impact water quality and could lead to contamination of fish products. During a recent study, Vibrio alginolyticus strains were detected on processed hake. The presence of most Vibrio spp. on fish products is of consumer safety concern and needs to be minimised. Water treatment strategies effective for seawater disinfection but with minimal negative effect on fish quality are required. In this study the effectiveness of chlorine, ozone and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the inhibition of mature biofilms or biofilm formation in natural seawater was investigated. Two V. alginolyticus strains (V590 and V595) isolated from hake fish as well as the type strains of V. alginolyticus LMG 4409 and V. parahaemolyticus LMG 2850 were used. Chlorine was ineffective as experiments showed that strains V590, V595 and V. parahaemolyticus LMG 2850 could form biofilms even in the presence of 4 mg/ℓ of chlorine. When ozone was used, biofilm initiation and formation were completely inhibited for only 2 strains of V. alginoluticus, i.e. LMG 4409 and V590, at 1.6 mg/ℓ or 0.8 mg/ℓ ozone, respectively. Hydrogen peroxide performed the best of all the disinfectants evaluated in this study. Inhibition of biofilm formation was observed for all strains at 0.05% H2O2. The mature biofilms were more resistant to H2O2 but were all eliminated at 0.2% concentrations. This study indicated that H2O2 is the most effective biocide to prevent biofilm formation in seawater distribution networks and could potentially be used as an alternative or supplementary disinfectant of seawater in marine fish-processing plants. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In this work spent tea leaves were used as a non-conventional, cost-effective sorbent for removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions in batch systems. The sorbent was characterised with respect to surface area, pore volume, density, etc. The equilibrium sorption data were applied to various sorption isotherm models, and the order of fitness was: Langmuir > Temkin > Freundlich. The maximum sorption capacity Qo was found to be almost 90.9 and 68.4, as evaluated using Langmuir isotherms at 27ºC and 37ºC respectively. The observed decrease in sorption capacity with temperature indicated the exothermic nature of the uptake process. The kinetic uptake data were best interpreted by a pseudo second-order kinetic model with values of rate constants of adsorption of 1.47 x 10-2 and 3.01 x 10-2 g/mg·min, respectively, for the initial sorbate concentrations of 10 and 20 mg·ℓ-1 at 27ºC. The sorption mean free energy was determined from the Dubinin Radushkevich (DR) isotherm model and was found to be 9.91 kJ·mol-1, indicating ion exchange/chemisorption nature of uptake process. The Cu(II) uptake was found to increase with the pH of the sorbate solution and maximum sorption was observed in the pH range of 1.0 to 4.8. Finally, thermodynamic parameters like ΔGº, ΔHº, ΔSº were also evaluated. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en There has been a continual search to develop sensitive analytical methods for detecting and determining organic compounds such as alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) in environmental samples, since they occur at very low concentration levels. Studies conducted so far in some South African waters have offered little or no information on APEs. The presence of these compounds in environmental samples is not desirable and therefore, needs to be monitored. Water and sediment samples were collected from different sites in the Jukskei River catchment area in the 2005 summer and winter seasons. Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and Soxhlet extraction (SE) methods (using 1:1 dichloromethane and methanol as extracting solvents) were optimised, evaluated and used to determine APEs of interest in water (unfiltered and filtered) and sediment samples, respectively. Mean percentage recoveries obtained for APEs in spiked double-distilled water were between 83.1±1.0 (OPnEOS3) and 108.1±3.5 (OP) and for sediments the range was between 96.6±0.9 (OPnEOS1) and 117.1±0.6 (OPnEOS3). The concentration levels of APEs studied in unfiltered environmental water samples were in the range of 0.25(0.03) ng/mℓ (NP) to 92.7(1.11) ng/mℓ (OPnEOS3) and 0.31(0.02) ng/mℓ (NP) to 60.1(0.51) ng/mℓ (OPnEOS3) for filtered environmental water samples. Concentration levels obtained in sediments were from 1.94(0.14) ng/gdw to 941(0.50) ng/gdw (OPnEOS3). Analytes adsorbed on the sample bottle gave concentration levels which ranged from 0.02(0.02) ng/mℓ to 0.42(0.02) ng/mℓ for APEs. All the compounds studied were found at levels higher than the European Union (EU) set levels for the protection of the aquatic environment. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Even though mining-related uranium (U) pollution in the Wonderfonteinspruit (WFS) has been an ongoing concern since the mid-1960s, media attention has increased considerably recently, focusing on pollution-related health risks that unsettle the general public. In view of recent findings that U might be more toxic than previously thought, such concerns need to be addressed. This even more so as South Africa has embarked on a nuclear expansion programme aimed at, amongst others, extending mining and processing of U. This is Part 1 of a series of papers aimed at the quantification of the extent of U pollution in the WFS, in order to provide a factual base for subsequent risk assessments. This paper provides an overview of recent findings on U toxicity with specific reference to drinking water, together with a critical examination of related international and South African guidelines. Based on a brief description of the study area and the impacts of mining over the past decades, the origin of U from different auriferous ore bodies (reefs) is explored. Using secondary data on historic gold and U production in the West Rand and the Far West Rand, tailings deposits in the 2 goldfields are estimated to contain well over 100 000 tons of U constituting a large reservoir for ongoing future U pollution. Apart from tailings, underground water in contact with uraniferous reefs constitutes another major source of waterborne U pollution. This applies to water pumped from underground mine workings as part of the active de-watering of overlying karst aquifers as well as decanting water from flooded mine voids. The discharge of U-polluted water together with largely uncontrolled outflow of uraniferous seepage from tailings deposits are major sources of water pollution in the WFS catchment. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Uranium (U) pollution of the surface water and groundwater of the Wonderfonteinspruit (WFS) catchment caused by gold mining over more than a century has been an ongoing concern for several decades. Triggered by a recent increase in media attention, political pressure on governmental authorities has mounted to assess the associated health risks and implement appropriate mitigation measures. However, owing to the complexity of the catchment arising from the presence of a multitude of dischargers, a complex karst hydrology and large-scale modifications thereof by deep-level gold mining, most attempts to address the issue to date have been limited to uncoordinated ad hoc studies generally suffering from a lack of temporal and spatial representivity of the underlying data. Part 2 of a series of 2 papers aimed at quantifying the extent of mining-related U pollution in the WFS catchment, this paper addresses the pollution of surface water, groundwater, as well as mine effluent. Based on close to 3 400 measured U concentrations (mostly unpublished) of water samples gathered between 1997 and 2008, an overview of U levels and associated loads in the WFS catchment is provided. Results indicate that U levels in water resources of the whole catchment have increased markedly, even though U loads emitted by some large gold mines in the Far West Rand have been significantly reduced. A major contributing factor is highly polluted water decanting from the flooded mine void in the West Rand, which was diverted to the WFS. Over the reference period, an average of some 3.5 t of dissolved U has been released into the fluvial system from monitored discharge points alone. However, since the WFS dries up well before it joins the Mooi River this U load does not usually impact on the water supply system of downstream Potchefstroom directly. It may, however, indirectly reach Potchefstroom since much of the water from the WFS recharges the underlying karst aquifer of the Boskop Turffontein Compartment (BTC), the single most important water resource for Potchefstroom. Compared to 1997, groundwater in the BTC showed the highest relative increase in U levels of the whole WFS catchment, resulting in some 800 kg/a of U flowing into Boskop Dam, Potchefstroom's main water reservoir. Of particular concern is the fact that U levels in the WFS are comparable to those detected in the Northern Cape (South Africa), which have been linked geostatistically to abnormal haematological values related to increased incidences of leukaemia observed in residents of the area. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In this paper a new approach to perform step-drawdown tests is presented. Step-drawdown tests known to date are performed strictly keeping the value of the pumping rates constant through all the steps of the test. Current technology allows one to let the submerged electric pumps work at a specific revolution per minute (r/min) and to suitably modify the rotation velocity at every step. The new approach presented in this paper is based on the idea of keeping the value of r/min fixed at every step of the test, instead of keeping constant the value of the discharge. This technique has been experimentally applied to a well and a description of the operations and results are presented in detail. This approach, in this unique case, made possible an understanding of how the discharge Q varies as a function of the drawdown s w. It also enables one monitor the approaching of the equilibrium between Q and s w, using both the variation of Q and s w with time. Moreover, it was observed that for the well in question the ratio Q/s w remains almost constant within each step. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This revisit of the stream-aquifer problem is based on a recent flux-based Green element formulation which offers more accurate solutions than previous formulations presented in Taigbenu (2003). Its accuracy also surpasses those provided by finite element and finite difference methods using grids that are coarser. As in all Green element formulations, the current formulation is predicated on the singular boundary integral theory that is implemented in an element-by-element fashion. What is new in the current formulation is that it calculates the fluxes at all nodes and not only at external nodes. While this approach exhibits much improved accuracy, its drawback lies with handling an increased number of unknowns. This drawback is, however, compensated for by the fewer elements required to achieve accuracies comparable to other conventional numerical methods. In this paper, it is demonstrated that with between 20% and 30% of elements used in finite element and finite difference models, comparable accuracy is achieved with this formulation. The main significance of the current computational technique is that it preserves the flux calculations in a manner that is consistent with the stream-aquifer interaction problem. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300010&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The lineament density map derived from remote sensing data of the fractured rock terrain plays an important role in the evaluation of the groundwater resource in the associated fractured aquifer. Application of the lineament density map frequently encounters the problems of whether the density map is representative of an area and whether the map can be effectively applied at a regional scale. Lineament data captured from Landsat ETM+ imagery in 7 domain areas in the Table Mountain Group (TMG) sandstone terrain were used to compute and analyse lineament densities. Methods of determining representative elementary area (REA) on a domain-area scale and on a study-area scale were developed, respectively, based on the power law relationship of lineament densities with computing cell sizes, linear relationship of REAs with domain-area sizes, and the power law relationship of REA percentages with domain-area sizes. Using the function convergence criterion of curve slope less than 1º and measuring dimension in units of area (L²) other than units of length (L), the REA of each domain area can be accurately determined. REA scale-effect analysis helps to optimise the determination of REA in a study area, and the optimisation of REAs may in turn improve the lineament density map generated for regional groundwater studies. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The oxygen transfer at a hydraulic structure happens by self-aeration through the spillway and by flow aeration in the hydraulic jump downstream of the hydraulic structure. Spillways with their water-air controlling mechanisms are important not only for their structural properties but also for their effects on stream ecology. Spillway types also affect the efficiency of aeration. Decisions on the types of spillway should be made by taking the environmental conditions and flow rates into consideration. This paper compares the aeration efficiency of stepped and smooth spillways. Empirical correlations predicting length of the non-aerated flow region and aeration efficiency are developed. Smooth and stepped spillways cause increased dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations at the downstream part of the channel. DO concentration changes are shown to depend on the flow types, discharge rates, tail-water depth and travelling times. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300012&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Ophrydium versatile (Müller 1786) Ehrenberg 1830 - a symbiotic ciliate that forms gelatinous colonies - is widely distributed in temperate lakes in Europe and America, but has not previously been recorded from rivers. In this paper we report the first record of O. versatile in an African river, based on an identity confirmed by molecular taxonomic identification. The limnological conditions within the Lephalala River during the sampling period were characterised as oligotrophic with low DOC concentrations, similar to the conditions observed in temperate northern hemisphere lakes where these organisms have been recorded previously. The majority of O. versatile colonies occurred in areas where thin orange-coloured films containing high concentrations of iron (> 60% Fe) covered the substrate and bedrock of the river; this may be related to the abundant picophytoplankton that were associated with these films and oligotrophic conditions. The planktonic diatom Gomphonema venusta Passy was dominant in the water column throughout the study period and acted as an environmental indicator of low electrical conductivity (EC) conditions in the habitat where O. versatile colonies were recorded. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300013&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Rock-pools have specific environmental characteristics, usually with multiple short and unpredictable hydroperiods in 1 season. This requires a specific set of life-history adaptations of their permanent inhabitants, which affects species occurrence. In Southern African rock-pools, large branchiopods are usually represented by Branchipodopsis species. During an intensive sampling campaign in 2004 in the Western Cape of South Africa, a population of Streptocephalus purcelli Sars, 1898 was discovered for the first time in a clear rock-pool with a short hydroperiod. Its usual habitat is a more turbid mud-pool with a longer hydroperiod. We investigated under standard laboratory conditions the differences in early life-history traits between the rock-pool population and a conspecific mud-pool population. Dormant eggs of the rock-pool population were smaller than those of the mud-pool population. The smaller larvae also hatched earlier. These characteristics are in accordance with what is expected for populations living in ephemeral systems. The rock-pool population, on the other hand, also exhibited a higher total hatching percentage, a longer hatching duration, a longer maturation time and a lower mortality. Although, deduced from the last mentioned life-history traits, S. purcelli seemed not well-adapted to unpredictable and ephemeral rock-pool habitats, they could probably occur due to the absence of the competitively stronger species in the region or due to dispersal and mass effects. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300014&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The Breede River is not a large river by world standards, but is the largest in South Africa's Western Province, and plays a significant part in the province's economy. Models predict that flows into it could be seriously affected by climate change. Accordingly a study was made of trends in flow over recent decades, in the hope that any trends detected would confirm, or otherwise, the prediction of the models. Data on flows over 30 years at various sites in the Breede Valley were downloaded from the Department of Water Affairs. The data were first checked for consistency. In 2 cases there was evidence that behaviour of the flow had changed, apparently permanently, during the course of the study period (typically the variance of the flow had changed markedly at a particular point in time). The data series was accordingly truncated to make use only of the longest series of consistent records. A simple, robust technique was then employed to detect the trends. The data at each site had a log-normal distribution, and linear regression of the log-transformed data was used to detect the trend. An F-test showed that in all cases the trends were significant; in one case a t-test indicated the detected trend was of low significance, but all others were highly significant. The results are discussed in terms of land use changes being a dominant factor in flows in the Breede River system, to an extent that should not have been ignored in attempting to use the data to predict future flows. Indeed, only one of the sites used in the study had a pristine watershed, and that showed a 14% increase in flow over the study period, contrary to the climate change predictions. There had earlier been a suggestion that climate change might be responsible for the changes in flows. It is generally recognised that climate change models cannot yet account for local climate change effects. Predictions of possible adverse local impacts from global climate change should therefore be treated with the greatest caution. Above all, they must not form the basis for any policy decisions until such time as they can reproduce known climatic effects satisfactorily. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300015&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Changing regional and global trends in climate and discharge, such as global warming-related declines in annual rainfall in south-eastern Africa, are likely to have a strong influence on water resource availability, and to increase livelihood risk. It is therefore important to characterise such trends. Information can be obtained by examining and comparing the rainfall and runoff records at different locations within a basin. In this study, trends in various parameters of temperature (4 stations), rainfall (10 stations) and discharge (16 stations) from the northern part of the Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe, were statistically analysed, using the Spearman rank test, the Mann-Kendall test and the Pettitt test. It was determined that rainfall and discharge in the study area have undergone a notable decline since 1980, both in terms of total annual water resources (declines in annual rainfall, annual unit runoff) and in terms of the temporal availability of water (declines in number of rainy days, increases in dry spells, increases in days without flow). Annual rainfall is negatively correlated to an index of the El Niño - Southern Oscillation phenomenon. The main areas of rising risk are an increasing number of dry spells, which is likely to decrease crop yields, and an increasing probability of annual discharge below the long-term average, which could limit blue-water availability. As rainfall continues to decline, it is likely that a multiplier effect will be felt on discharge. Increasing food shortages are a likely consequence of the impact of this declining water resource availability on rain-fed and irrigated agriculture. Declining water resource availability will also further stress urban water supplies, notably those of Zimbabwe's second-largest city of Bulawayo, which depends to a large extent from these water resources and already experiences chronic water shortages. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300016&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Impacts of large dams are well-known and quantifiable, while small dams have generally been perceived as benign, both socially and environmentally. The present study quantifies the cumulative impacts of small dams on the water quality (physico-chemistry and invertebrate biotic indices) and quantity (discharge) of downstream rivers in 2 South African regions. The information from 2 South African national databases was used for evaluating the cumulative impacts on water quality and quantity. Physico-chemistry and biological data were obtained from the River Health Programme, and discharge data at stream flow gauges was obtained from the Hydrological Information System. Multivariate analyses were conducted to establish broad patterns for cumulative impacts of small dams across the 2 regions - Western Cape (winter rainfall, temperate, south-western coast) and Mpumalanga (summer rainfall, tropical, eastern coast). Multivariate analyses found that the changes in macroinvertebrate indices and the stream's physico-chemistry were more strongly correlated with the density of small dams in the catchment (as a measure of cumulative impact potential) relative to the storage capacity of large dams. T-tests on the data, not including samples with upstream large dams, indicated that the high density of small dams significantly reduced low flows and increased certain physico-chemistry variables (particularly total dissolved salts) in both the regions, along with associated significant reductions in a macroinvertebrate index (SASS4 average score per taxon). Regional differences were apparent in the results for discharge reductions and the macroinvertebrate index. The results suggest that the cumulative effect of a high number of small dams is impacting the quality and quantity of waters in South African rivers and that these impacts need to be systematically incorporated into the monitoring protocol of the environmental water requirements. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300017&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This paper investigates the cumulative impacts of small dams on invertebrate communities in 2 regions of South Africa - the Western Cape and Mpumalanga. Previous research found reduced discharge, increased total dissolved salts, and a decrease in average score per taxon (ASPT; collected using SASS4 methods) at sites with high density of small dams in their catchment. These changes in ASPT are investigated using the invertebrate abundance data available in the River Health Programme. Multivariate analyses found differences in invertebrate communities in rivers with high densities of small dams in their catchment in foothill-gravel streams (in both Western Cape and Mpumalanga) and in foothill-cobble streams (in Western Cape only). Opportunistic taxa that are tolerant of pollution, and capable of exploiting various habitats, and those that prefer slower currents increased in numbers, while other taxa that are sensitive to pollution and disturbance declined in numbers. Some regional differences were noted possibly reflecting climatic differences between the regions. Since the results of this study are correlative, it highlights the need for a systematic (by sites and seasons) and detailed (at species level) collection of data to verify the results of cumulative effects of small dams. This can further the development of a framework for small-dam construction and management that will limit their impact on river catchments. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1816-79502010000300018&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The central position of water in social and economic development drives the imperative for water storage, particularly in water-stressed parts of the world. A consequence is that rivers are perceived primarily as locations for water storage as we seek to manage risks to social welfare and development. Assurance of supply becomes the dominant paradigm shaping decisions about allocation of water from impoundments. When this paradigm is deeply ingrained it constrains decision-making around flow management for other purposes, particularly for sustaining ecological systems. Ten years ago South Africa introduced progressive legislation for water resource management (the National Water Act of 1998) which enshrines the ecological Reserve. This requirement for the environment is not considered as a water use, because the environment is the resource. However, due to the very complex Reserve determination process, and perhaps a lack of political will, the ecological Reserve has proved difficult to implement and has only now started to be implemented in some river systems. In the case of the lower uMngeni River in KwaZulu-Natal, besides releases to maintain a minimum river flow (the so called ‘compensation flows', which were never designed as environmental flows), for nearly 20 years there has been an unofficial policy to allow spates on between 1 and 4 days per year to make possible the continuation of the prestigious Dusi Canoe Marathon. The total amount of water involved is just over 1.2% of the river's virgin MAR, although in years perceived to be dry the releases may be cut to as little as 0.3% of the virgin MAR. While these releases have been tolerated for the continuation of a high-value recreational industry, they are in fact aligned, albeit with a fraction of the necessary volume, with the environmental flows that would be required if the ecological Reserve had been determined. The releases for these events therefore have a dual or conjunctive value, serving both environmental and recreational purposes at the same time. We suggest that considerations of conjunctive use offer practical opportunities for balancing resource protection and development in regulated rivers.