BACKGROUND INFORMATION DOCUMENT as part of the BASIC ASSESSMENT PROCESS for the PROPOSED DR08017 ROAD AND PORTAL CULVERT UPGRADE, MATATIELE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY, ALFRED NZO DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

1. Introduction

The Matatiele Local Municipality in conjunction with the Department of Roads and Public Works has proposed the upgrade of the DR08017 Road from the R56 to Mvenyane Village. The project is located within Ward 21 of the Matatiele Local Municipality, Alfred Nzo District. Before construction of the pedestrian bridge may commence, an environmental authorisation is required from the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (EDEAT), in compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of 2014. In order to obtain this authorisation a Basic Assessment is currently being undertaken by Enviroedge cc.

2. The Project

The project is located in Ward 21. The start point, near Cedarville (0km) is from the intersection of the R56 and DR08017, and the end point (24km), is at Mvenyane Village. The proposed road upgrade involves the upgrading of the existing gravel road to a surfaced low-volume road, together with the upgrade of two watercourse crossings. The existing road is classified as a low volume road, however, this road has been identified as the most efficient link road between Mt Frere and Cedarville through to Matatiele. The road upgrade will offer the shortest route of surfaced road from Cedarville to Mt Frere (approximately 75km), compared to the current surfaced route via (approximately 105km). The proposed road upgrade shall remain a single carriageway, two-way road. The DR08017 will be upgraded to Class 4 (6.8 metres wide), with a combination of sections including concrete pavement and bitumen. It is anticipated that gravel material for layer works will be sourced from a nearby borrow pit, located at 30°25'54.90"S 29° 3'31.60"E.

The DR08017 Road has stormwater infrastructure and non-perennial streams crossings in place. No upgrades to the stormwater infrastructure or non-perennial crossings structures will occur, other than resurfacing of the road pavement layers. The two major watercourse crossings, however, are planned to be upgraded to portal culvert structures, and are located at the following co-ordinates: Watercourse Crossing 1 - WC1 (12.560 km): 30°29'38.54"S 29° 2'46.99"E Watercourse Crossing 2 - WC2 (14.400 km): 30°30'07.27"S 29° 3'42.97"E

Figure 1. Image looking east showing the Umzimvubu Figure 2. Image looking north east showing the perennial tributary and WC1 that is proposed for Umzimvubu non-perennial tributary and WC2 that upgrade to a portal culvert crossing. is proposed for upgrade to a portal culvert crossing.

3. Affected Area

Topography and Drainage: The topography of the project area consists of open hills, lowlands, and mountains with moderate to high drainage density (0.5 – 2 km/km2). Less than 20% of the area has slopes less than 5%. The study area drains from higher altitudes in the west to low altitudes I the east. The Umzimvubu River is located to the east of the project area for the length of the road in the northern, central and mid-southern region, the KwaMatuta River and the Mvenyane Rivers are located to the south and east of the road end point. The road upgrade traverses three quaternary catchments namely T31F, T31G and T31H.

Climate: Rainfall in the study area occurs predominantly during the summer months in the form of convectional thunderstorms, with some rain in the winter. Mean Annual Precipitation ranges between 620 mm and 816mm. Mean Average Temperatures range between 12.9oC to 15.6 oC. Moderate to severe frosts do occur for approximately 30 days of the year.

Geology: The project area falls within the Karoo supergroup, embracing the and Beaufort groups and Tarkastad subgroup. The material in this area would generally consist of medium to fine grained sandstone and mudstones. In the Cedarville area, there are also dolerite dyke intrusions. Weathered mudstone disintegrates on exposure and is relatively easy to excavate in its highly to completely weathered state. In an un-weathered state, the rock is medium hard and massive which makes for very difficult excavation by earth moving equipment. Sandstone occurs within the argillaceous mudrock or siltstone, and is mostly interspersed as isolated horizons within these rocks. There are no unstable geological features along the route and the area is non dolomitic, with no presence of sinkholes or dolines.

Vegetation: The proposed project falls within two vegetation groups namely the East Griqualand Grassland (Gs12) in the north, and the Drakensburg Foothill Moist Grassland (Gs10) in the southern region. Mucina and Rutherford describe the Gs12 class as hilly country slopes covered by grasslands, with patches of bush clumps with Leucosidea sericea or Diospyros lyciodes, Acaicia karoo and Ziziphus mucronata in low-lying and very dry sites. Gs10 is described as moderate rolling and mountainaous landscapes, incised by rivers with drier vegetation types and forest covered with forb-rich grassland dominated by short bunch grasses, including Themda triandra and Tristachya leucothrix. Although the proposed site falls within an existing roadway and servitude, road edges comprise predominantly grasses with some shrubs. Gum and Black wattle invasive trees were noted along road edges.

Culture and Heritage: The presence of features of cultural or historical importance is currently unknown.

National and District Roads: The DR08017 Road does not join any National road. The R56 road is located at the start point of the proposed road upgrade.

Utilities: Water services were identified along the road and crossing the road. Overhead powerlines were also identified. The presence of underground services is not known. All relevant government departments or parastatals will be consulted as part of the Public Participation Process.

4. Public Consultation Members of the public have the right to be consulted during the Public Participation Process. If you would like to be part of this process please register with the environmental consultant using the contacts below.

Consultants: Enviroedge cc. Contact: Steven Whitaker PO BOX 1009, Kloof, 3640 Tel: 071 140 8350; Fax: 086 654 6598 E-mail: [email protected]

Figure 3. Locality Plan

Figure 4. Watercourse Crossing 1 (WC1) design detail.

Figure 5. Watercourse Crossing 2 (WC2) design detail.