Friends of Rietvlei
Member of the Wildlife & Environment Society of South Africa Western Cape Region
Diep River Estuary Management Plan
The Diep River Estuary, by definition the river and vlei from the Blaauwberg Road bridge in Table View to the river mouth at Woodbridge Island in Milnerton, is recognized as one of the most important estuaries in the Cape Metropolitan Area. Over the years the estuary has been affected by various developments on its shores, as well as by facilities such as the Potsdam Waste Water Treatment Works.
There has been some attempts to ameliorate the affects of these developments, but management interventions have not always been successful. Recently, the further upgrading of Potsdam WWTW has applied further pressure on the system, as well as increased pollution from stormwater discharges into the river from the surrounding urban sprawl.
It was realized that further management interventions without a proper scientific understanding of the system could only harm the system. The City of Cape Town and the C.A.P.E Estuaries Programme (a programme of Cape Nature) appointed consultants to complete a management plan for the Diep River Estuary - this plan was completed in December 2008 and submitted to the Blaauwberg Subcouncil and the public at the beginning of 2009. The plan was reviewed in 2010 and it has now been updated.
The plan describes an action plan of various projects that must be implemented to both increase our understanding of the system and to prevent further deterioration.
The task of implementing the action plan has started, but applications for funding must follow certain procedures which inevitably takes time. Some funding has been made available and some projects have been initiated, we hope that more funds will be available in 2011.
The Diep River Estuary Management Plan (January 2011 version) is available as a pdf document.
» Click here to open the Diep River Estuary Management Plan «
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