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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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The Diep River Estuary
Management Plan (January 2011
version) is available as
a pdf document. |
