Hippo grass has once again overgrown and covered large swathes of Lake Victoria making it cumbersome for some of the small vessels and boats to navigate the waters. Dr Christopher Aura, a scientist and Deputy Director Freshwater System explained that the hippo grass has grown up to about 200 metres into the shore. ‘’Hippo grass grows on soil and depends on its roots to take up nutrients from the soil especially in wetlands. The State acquired a Sh80 million water hyacinth harvester in 2015 which can also be used to remove the hippo grass. Lake Victoria is the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second-largest in the world after Lake Superior in the Northern United States of America.

Source: Standard Digital April 02, 2021 20:10 UTC