Klip River (Gauteng)
| Klip River Kliprivier | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
  Location within Gauteng | |
| Location | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | Vaal River at Vereeniging |
• coordinates | 26°40′15″S 27°57′15″E / 26.67083°S 27.95417°E |
• elevation | 1,414 m (4,639 ft) |
The Klip River (or in Afrikaans: Kliprivier, lit. 'Stone river') is the main river draining the portion of Johannesburg south of the Witwatersrand, and its basin includes the Johannesburg CBD and Soweto.[1] The mouth of the river is at Vereeniging where it empties into the Vaal River,[2] which is a tributary to the Orange River. Besides Vereeniging, other towns along the river include Henley on Klip, Lenasia and Meyerton.
The Kidson Weir
[edit]The Kidson Weir is a weir located in the village of Henley on Klip on the Klip river in South Africa, and was named after Fenning Kidson, the grandson of an 1820 settler.[3]
History
[edit]Fenning was educated in England, but returned to South Africa as a young man and became a transport rider, a contemporary of Sir Percy FitzPatrick. Soon after the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War, news came to Kidson that a commando was on his way to his farm to arrest him. Under the noses of the Boers he escaped, riding sidesaddle, his burly frame crammed into his wife’s riding habit. He finally made his way to Natal, but returned to the Transvaal after the war, settling in Henley on Klip with his wife, Edith. The family home was named Tilham, which is the manor house on the river at the corner of Regatta and Shillingford Roads.[4]
Today
[edit]In December 2010, the village of Henley on Klip experienced heavy floods, after which, it was decided to do some work on improving the weir. In January 2012 work has started on the repairs to the pipes on the western side of the weir. In March 2012 plans were being drawn up to build a new bridge across the weir.[5][6]
Environmental concerns
[edit]The wetland ecosystem of the Klip River in Lenasia, Soweto and surrounding areas have been found to have high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) caused by agricultural and industrial runoff and urban waste.[7] Reports in 2016[8] and in 2025[9] have shown high levels of PAHs in fish, vertebrates, plant life, and in soil sediments that pose a risk to human health.[8]: 99, 78 Zebrafish embryos have suffered severe malformations, delayed hatching and an 80% mortality rate.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Klip Basin map". Archived from the original on 2005-05-05. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- ↑ Upper Vaal Basin map, Government of South Africa
- ↑ "Kidson Weir - Henley on Klip - Water Dams on Waymarking.com". Groundspeak, Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ↑ "Henley on Klip". The South Entertainment, September 2004, Issue No.59. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ↑ "Henley on Klip" (PDF). The Henley Herald. Retrieved 20 June 2017.[dead link]
- ↑ "MIDVAAL APPROVES A BUDGET OF R930 MILLION FOR 2012/2013" (PDF). Midvaal Local Municipality. Retrieved 20 June 2017.[dead link]
- ↑ Mabuza, Ernest. "University researchers uncover toxic legacy in Klip River".
- 1 2 "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aquatic ecosystems of Soweto/Lenasia" (PDF). Water Research Commission. 2242 (16). 2016-06-01. ISBN 978-1-4312-0801-2.
- 1 2 Makobe, Samuel; Seopela, Mathapelo P.; Ambushe, Abayneh A. (2025-02-08). "Seasonal variations, source apportionment, and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments from Klip River, Johannesburg, South Africa". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 197 (3): 257. doi:10.1007/s10661-025-13724-0. ISSN 1573-2959. PMC 11807025. PMID 39921783.
External links
[edit]- HENLEY-ON-KLIP
- HENLEY-ON-KLIP
- Community pages - Henley on Klip
Media related to Klip River, Gauteng at Wikimedia Commons
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