News

The Eden District Municipality”s health division took 2 water samples at the Swartvlei mouth in the last 2 months. There was a count of 2419 which is above the 500 mark recommended by the Department of Water Affairs for full recreational sites. “As the responsible authority, we have committed to take at least an additional 7 samples along the system. Additional testing for E.coli will help identify the sources of pollution” says James McCarthy of the Eden District Municipality.

Local estuarine expert Professor Brian Allanson of the Knysna Basin Project has supported the move for rigorous testing because the estuary is at least 190 hectares in size from the mouth to the bridge.

“The presence of E.coli at the mouth is not a valid reason to open the mouth of the estuary through breaching.” SANParks, the custodians of the system are not convinced this is the solution to the emerging challenge. Signboards to warn people not to swim or dive (full body contact recreactional activities) at that specific site where tests were conducted are already up. Intermediate activities such as canoeing and waterskiing higher up the estuary are ongoing.

The Eden District Municipality Disaster Management has indicated that the Region is in a relatively drier seasonal cycle as below average rainfall is predicted for the summer months. “We are not facing drought. Drought is when there is no water” according to the Municipality. Knysna Municipality”s Water Demand Management measures communicated to citizens recently are meant to encourage citizens in Sedgefield, Knysna and surrounds to use water sparingly. Furthermore, the link made between the estuary and the Municipality”s desalination plant in recent reports is factually incorrect. “The weir in Karatara which might have contributed to high salinity levels is now fully functional again. The desalination plant and boreholes will provide sufficient water to Sedgefield.”

Neither the levels of E.coli at the mouth nor the salinity levels in the water (mainly due to an estuary mouth having been open for extended periods after the 2007 floods, resulting in an inflow of saltwater from the sea) are valid reasons to deviate from the National Park”s management plan for estuaries. These plans guide the breaching process. Premature breaching without sufficient evidence of an emergency will in the long-term, compromise both the system and those living close to it.

For more information on breaching, kindly access the Park”s management plan on this link: http://www.sanparks.co.za/parks/garden_route/about/docs/grnp_mgmnt_plan.pdf

Boilerplate

An estuary is defined as a partially enclosed coastal body of water, which is either permanently or periodically open to the sea, and within which there is mixture of seawater with freshwater derived from land drainage.

Artificial breaching of the sandbars at the Touw Estuary and Swartriver Estuary mouths are done primarily to prevent flooding of neighbouring properties. The open/closed conditions of the estuary is often cited as one of several environmental factors that influences the abundance of marine fish in estuaries. The set standards for breaching are 2 meters above mean sea level (amsl) for Swartvlei estuary and between 2,1 and 2,4 meters for the Touw estuary.

Enquiries

Nandi Mgwadlamba
SANParks
Tel: 044 302 5633 or 078 702 9663
Email: [email protected]