Proposed Coastal Protection Scheme, St Francis Bay, Kouga Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province Estuarine and Dune System I
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PROPOSED COASTAL PROTECTION SCHEME, ST FRANCIS BAY, KOUGA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY, EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE ESTUARINE AND DUNE SYSTEM IMPACT ASSESSMENT DEDEAT REFERENCE NUMBER: EC08/C/LN2/M/42-2019 DRAFT Prepared for On behalf of St Francis Property Owners NPC Kouga Local Municipality PO Box 18 PO Box 21 St Francis Bay Jeffreys Bay 6312 6330 Prepared by 36 Pickering Street, Newton Park, Port Elizabeth, 6045 Also in Grahamstown, East London, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Maputo www.cesnet.co.za August 2019 REVISIONS TRACKING TABLE This report should be cited as follows: Coastal & Environmental Services, August 2019: Proposed Coastal Protection Scheme, St Francis Bay, Kouga Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, Estuarine Assessment. CES, Port Elizabeth. CES Report Revision and Tracking Schedule Document Title Estuarine Assessment: Proposed Coastal Protection Scheme, St Francis Bay, Kouga Local Municipality, Eastern Cape Province Client Name & St Francis Property Owners NPC Address PO Box 18 St Francis Bay 6312 On behalf of Kouga Local Municipality PO Box 21 Jeffreys Bay 6330 Document Reference DEDEAT Ref: EC08/C/LN2/M/42-2019 Status Draft Issue Date August 2019 Authors Coastal & Environmental Mr Greg Shaw Services Coastal & Environmental Dr Chantel Bezuidenhout Services Reviewer Coastal & Environmental Dr Ted Avis Services COPYRIGHT INFORMATION This document contains intellectual property and propriety information that is protected by copyright in favour of Coastal & Environmental Port Elizabeth Services (CES) and the specialist consultants. 13 Stanley Street The document may therefore not be Richmond Hill, reproduced, used or distributed to any third Port Elizabeth party without the prior written consent of CES. 6001 This document is prepared exclusively for [email protected] submission to the St Francis Property Owners www.cesnet.co.za Association, and is subject to all confidentiality, Also in Grahamstown, Cape Town, copyright and trade secrets, rules intellectual East London Johannesburg and property law and practices of South Africa. Maputo Coastal & Environmental Services i St Francis Bay Coastal Protection Scheme TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIALIST ASSESSMENTS AS OUTLINED IN APPENDIX 6 OF THE NEMA EIA REGULATIONS ............................................................................. 1 2. PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................................... 3 2.1 DETAILS OF THE SPECIALISTS ...................................................................................... 3 3. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 5 3.1 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................... 5 3.2 VALUE OF ESTUARIES ..................................................................................................... 5 3.3 VALUE OF DUNE SYSTEMS ............................................................................................. 9 3.4 KEY LEGISLATION ........................................................................................................... 10 4. TERMS OF REFERENCE & PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................. 11 4.1 TERMS OF REFERENCE ................................................................................................. 11 4.2 ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS .............................................................................. 11 4.3 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ................................................................................................. 12 4.4 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................ 12 5. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 16 5.1 DESKTOP ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................... 16 5.2 MAPPING ............................................................................................................................ 16 5.3 CES METHODOLOGY FOR ASSESSING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACTS...... 16 6. DESCRIPTION OF THE ESTUARY ............................................................................. 19 6.1 CLIMATE ............................................................................................................................. 19 6.2 HYDROLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 19 6.3 ESTUARINE FUNCTIONAL ZONE ................................................................................. 20 6.4 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FUNCTIONAL ZONE............................... 23 6.5 FLORA OF THE FUNCTIONAL ZONE............................................................................ 26 6.5.1 SUBMERGED MACROPHYTES ................................................................... 27 6.5.2 SALT MARSH ................................................................................................ 28 6.5.3 REEDS AND SEDGES .................................................................................. 31 6.6 FAUNA OF THE FUNCTIONAL ZONE ........................................................................... 32 6.7 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE KROMME ESTUARY ......................... 34 6.8 PROTECTED AREAS ....................................................................................................... 35 7. DESCRIPTION OF THE DUNE AND BEACH SYSTEM .............................................. 37 7.1 BEACH AND FRONTAL DUNE SYSTEM ...................................................................... 37 7.2 SAND RIVER DUNE SYSTEM ......................................................................................... 39 8. SITE SENSITIVITY ...................................................................................................... 41 8.1 ESTUARINE IMPACT ASSESSMENT ............................................................................ 43 8.1.1 EXISTING IMPACTS ..................................................................................... 43 8.1.2 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONAL PHASE IMPACTS .......................... 46 8.1.3 DECOMMISSIONING PHASE IMPACTS ...................................................... 55 8.1.4 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ............................................................................... 55 9. DUNE AND BEACH IMPACT ASSESSMENT ............................................................. 57 9.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 57 9.1.1 construction PHASE IMPACTS ...................................................................... 57 9.1.2 OPERATIONAL PHASE IMPACTS ................................................................ 59 10. MONITORING .............................................................................................................. 61 Coastal & Environmental Services ii St Francis Bay Coastal Protection Scheme 10.1 BASELINE DATA ............................................................................................................... 61 10.2 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONAL PHASE MONITORING PARAMETERS .. 61 11. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................. 63 11.1 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................. 63 11.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................... 64 REFERENCE LIST ............................................................................................................. 66 APPENDIX 1: CURICULUM VITAE .................................................................................... 73 APPENDIX 2: SPECIALIST DECLARATIONS ................................................................... 74 Coastal & Environmental Services iii St Francis Bay Coastal Protection Scheme LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: Location of the proposed beach nourishment. ................................................................... 12 Figure 4.2: Potential areas to be used to source sand material. .......................................................... 13 Figure 4.3: General layout for the stub groynes. .................................................................................. 14 Figure 4.4: Phased implementation of the proposed coastal protection scheme. ................................ 15 Figure 6.1 Average rainfall, midday temperatures and night time temperatures for St Francis Bay (SA Explorer, 2017). ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Figure 6.2: The Kromme Estuary Functional Zone and Habitat Map. .................................................. 22 Figure 6.3: Aerial Imagery of the Kromme Estuary during the period of 2004 – 2017. ........................ 25 Figure 6.4: Critical Biodiversity Areas of St Francis Bay. ..................................................................... 35 Figure 6.5: NEMBA threatened ecosystems in the broader St Francis Bay area................................. 36 Figure 8.1: Sensitivity Map of the Kromme Estuary. IMPACT ASSESSMENT .................................... 42 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1. Summary of the