Cape Town – The City of Cape Town has called on local residents to comment on the proposal to redevelop and upgrade the weirs at Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei in the False Bay Nature Reserve.
The City says it has appointed an independent environmental practitioner to undertake the necessary Environmental Impact Assessment related to the proposed redevelopment of the weir complex located within the False Bay Nature Reserve.
The proposed redevelopment is to supplement other medium-term interventions, among them the dredging of Zeekoevlei, to improve the overall water quality of this Ramsar site.
Both Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei are managed by a system of penstock sluice gates to allow for the water level to be dropped to a minimum depth, which is known as the annual ‘drawdown’, usually at the end of the summer sailing season.
“The intention of the drawdown is to remove nutrient-rich water and sediment from the system and to increase the capacity of the vleis prior to the winter rainfall season to reduce the risk of flooding of surrounding areas,” said the Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
Andrews said the current manually operated weirs limit the depth of water that can be drawn down. The weir walls, built in the 1950s, prevent the movement of marine and estuarine fish into and from the vleis.
‘“Our intention is to lower the weirs at both Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei and to install mechanically operated sluice gates, as opposed to the current systems where we remove the penstocks manually for the drawdown.
“Many residents and interest groups from the False Bay Nature Reserve join us for the annual drawdown and are well aware of what this task entails. With mechanically operated sluice gates we will be able to do drawdowns quicker, and the lower weirs will allow for a lower level drawdown of the vlei water.
“We intend to keep the existing penstocks, but will modify the Zeekoevlei weir with a new sluice channel with channel gates in addition to the wooden penstocks.
“The installation of fish swim ways will assist with the reintroduction of natural estuarine fish into the vleis, restore fish diversity and abundance, restore the nursery function of the two estuaries, and enhance the conservation status of estuarine dependent marine fish species.
“We are extremely excited about the prospect of having our indigenous fish back in the two vleis,” Andrews said.
Residents and interested parties have until July 26 to register to comment on the proposal.
– Interested parties are encouraged to register and comment on the draft basic assessment.
– The relevant documents can be accessed at www.infinityenv.co.za/zeekoevleiweir
– Comments can be submitted electronically by sending an email to [email protected], remember to provide your name, contact details, and the interest you may have in this application.
– For more information, send a WAPP message to 060 524 7676, or phone 021 834 1602.
– The comment period closes on July 26, 2024.