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Dart Group

Trusted specialists in dam maintenance and environmental care.

25/08/2026

Here's some before and after shots of one of our recent projects near Cullinan. The project was very rewarding to work on. Good to see it open again!

17/08/2026

This is the kind of spot most machines can't get to. Too wet and soft to drive a normal excavator in without it getting stuck, too far out to reach from the bank.

The amphibious excavator works. Reeds, silt, whatever the issue.

The dam in the photo had reed beds creeping in around the shallows. We clear the perimeter and the shallow beds, dig out the roots, and give the owner back their dam.

If you've got a dam filling in with reeds or losing depth to silt, that's the work we do.

Visit https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/A8j to request a quote

14/08/2026

Wanted: Excavator Operator

Dart operates amphibious excavators and long reach excavators projects across Gauteng and surrounds. We're looking for an Excavator Operator to help out.

Apply: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/mWg

03/08/2026

When our equipments needs a part or service, DCT are the people we call. They built the machine, they know it better than anyone, and they've never left us waiting.

That's the difference a real supplier makes. Backing you when you need them most.

Thank you to Harm and team. They put in the work to keep us running, and we don't take it for granted.

https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/EMp

Visit our website to learn more about our projects and what we do: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/2YO

14/07/2026

Every project is different.

With this one, we're cutting a trench through marshy ground to help dewater a dam for a client. Soft, waterlogged terrain like this needs the right machine and the right approach, and it's exactly the kind of challenge we take on.

No two sites are the same. Contact us for your site assessment today.
https://www.dartgroup.co.za

27/05/2026

Parrot's Feather

Cape Town's storm-water canals were clogged with parrot's feather through the 1990s.
Dense mats blocked drainage systems. Winter rainfall couldn't flow properly. Flood risk increased across the metro.

Then biocontrol agents (a leaf-feeding beetle called Lysathia) were released nationally in 1994.
Within three years, the invasion was largely insignificant at most sites. CABI calls it "highly successful." The programme worked so well that North American biocontrol efforts now model themselves on the South African approach.

Here's the kicker: parrot's feather spreads only through fragmentation in SA. We have no male plants, so it can't produce seeds. Every infestation started because someone dumped aquarium clippings, or a stem washed downstream, or a piece hitched a ride on equipment.

There are no seeds drifting on the wind. Every outbreak is traceable to a physical piece of plant being moved from one water body to another.

We've just published a guide to parrot's feather and four other invasive aquatic plants disrupting SA water systems.

Read it here: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/Aph

25/05/2026

Kariba W**d (Salvinia)

Salvinia molesta is one of South Africa's biggest biological control success stories.

A national study tracked 57 infestation sites from 2008 to 2017. After the salvinia weevil was released in 1985, average w**d cover dropped from 51–100% (heavy infestation) to 0–5% (negligible) over the monitoring period.
Eighteen sites achieved complete control. The w**d no longer poses a threat.

Here's what matters: biological control is now the only method used for Salvinia in South Africa. No recurring chemical budget. No mechanical intervention schedule. The weevil does the work.
For mine tailings dams and process water reservoirs where Salvinia blocks equipment and chokes flow, this is the kind of long-term solution that actually works.

Early intervention still matters. The weevil works best when infestations are caught before they become thick mats.

We've written a full breakdown of Salvinia and four other invasive plants disrupting SA water infrastructure.

Read it here: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/uI1

20/05/2026

Water Lettuce

The Vaal River Barrage outbreak in 2024 cost R10 million to clear in six months.
Two boat operators and one houseboat business closed. Staff were retrenched. Livelihoods disappeared while the plant doubled coverage every 10 days.

Water lettuce went from 3.52 hectares in November 2023 to 240 hectares by April 2024. That's 21% of the Barrage surface and 40 kilometres of river covered.

Manual removal, weevils, and targeted chemical treatment brought it under control by winter. But it took half a year, R10 million, and multiple business failures to get there.

The takeaway for operations managers: this plant moves fast. Waiting to see if it goes away on its own is not a strategy.

We've just published a guide to the five invasive aquatic plants causing the most damage to SA dams and water systems.

Read it here: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/8U7

18/05/2026

Water Hyacinth

Hartbeespoort Dam spent R4.2 million on herbicide between 1977 and 2001.
The w**d came back anyway. By 2022, water hyacinth covered 37% of the surface again.

This is South Africa's most persistent aquatic w**d problem. It doesn't just block irrigation intakes and clog pumps. It crashes oxygen levels, kills fish, and degrades water quality across entire systems.

When hyacinth takes over, agricultural operations and municipal supply are both at risk.

Mechanical removal gives immediate results. Chemical control needs permits and repeat applications. Biological control (weevils and planthoppers) takes years to establish but works long-term.
The lesson? Waiting is expensive. Early intervention is cheaper than recovery.

We've written a full breakdown of water hyacinth and four other invasive plants disrupting SA water bodies.

Read it here: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/Vjt

15/05/2026

Common Reed

Reed invasion is a maintenance burden most dam managers recognize too late.

Dense stands advancing one metre annually from the margins, trapping sediment and blocking cattle access.
The reed isn't the villain. It's indigenous and stabilizes banks naturally. The problem is uncontrolled expansion in the wrong places.

At the Wilderness Lakes in the Western Cape, SANParks has run mechanical cutting programmes for decades. Their research showed something critical: cutting reeds in permanently flooded zones eliminates them. Cutting in moist or dry zones just produces more (shorter) regrowth.

Site assessment matters. If you cut reeds in the wrong zone, you're paying twice.

We've just published a breakdown of the five aquatic w**ds causing the most operational disruption across SA dams right now — from mines to golf courses.

Read it here: https://www.dartgroup.co.za/r/pGq

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Pretoria
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Website

http://www.dartgroup.co.za/

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