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Berg River Dam, South Africa IMPACT ASSESSMENT CASE STUDIES FROM SOUTHERN AFRICA Nigel Rossouw, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority Client: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (for the EIA) and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (for the EMP) SAIEA Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment ... working for a better Africa THE BERG WATER PROJECT: CHARTING THE FUTURE FOR LARGE DAMS Nigel Rossouw, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority Client: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (for the EIA) and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority THE BERG WATER PROJECT: (for the EMP) CHARTING THE FUTURE FOR LARGE DAMS Aims of the Project Brief description of the development & alternatives considered The Berg Water Project (BWP), consisting of the The BWP is the culmination of a 14-year strategic should be studied further with a view to Berg River Dam and supplement scheme (i.e. a integrated planning process by the Department of implementation. Interested and affected parties, diversion weir and balancing dam), is designed Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) to identify the public and representatives of government were to augment raw bulk water supply to the greater appropriate measures to address the water shortage involved in the evaluation process which took Cape Town metropolitan area in the Western Cape in the Western Cape. The planning process was place from 1995 to 1996. region of South Africa. initiated in 1989 and was called the Western Cape Systems Analysis (WCSA). Its purpose was to A shortlist of 11 schemes to be studied further The BWP was one out of a number of options to reconcile the water demand and water supply for was agreed upon. The options included water improve water security for over three million the Western Cape region. It was a democratic demand management, re-use of sewage effluent, people served by the integrated Western Cape strategy process and was supported by technical removal of water-consuming alien vegetation, Water Supply System, in which combined demand and scientific assessment to aid decision-making. desalination of sea water and the construction of from urban and agriculture users will exceed the The water situation assessment conducted as part the Berg Water Project. water yield available from the areaÕs conventional of the WCSA determined that Cape Town would water resources before 2020. be the first metropolitan area in South Africa The following course of action was identified: where water demand would exceed the available The purpose of the BWP is to capture and store water supply. The WCSA provided a list of ¥ Water demand management was accorded winter runoff from the mountainous upper reaches projects that could be implemented to increase the highest priority but its implementation of the Berg River catchment and transfer it to the the water supply. was hampered by the large number of existing Western Cape Water Supply System. local authorities. About 24 possible supply options and alternatives The BWP will contribute 81 million cubic metres in the region were examined. A short list of ¥ Desalination was not economically feasible of water, equivalent to 18% of the total bulk water options was compiled on the basis of technical, in the short term due to its very high cost. storage. financial, environmental and social factors. Several public meetings were held, but consensus ¥ The Berg Water Project would be studied could not be achieved on the priority of future at feasibility level as it provided much needed schemes. Accordingly a public process was storage in the System. developed to obtain input as to which schemes © SAIEA 2009 1 Nigel Rossouw, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority Client: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (for the EIA) and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority THE BERG WATER PROJECT: (for the EMP) CHARTING THE FUTURE FOR LARGE DAMS Brief description of the development & alternatives considered ¥ The City of Cape Town (CCT) would study tributaries downstream of the dam) into an off- with provision for a peak release of up to 200 options such as the use of local groundwater channel balancing dam, from where the water will m3/s, making it the first dam in South Africa in and re-use of sewage effluent. be pumped back into the Berg River Dam. The which provision is made for flood releases for outlet works of the Berg River Dam have been environmental purposes. DWAF initiated the EIA process and the EIA designed to release both low flows and high flows report was produced for decision-making in 1996. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism issued the Record of Decision in 1999. In April 2002 Cabinet approved the construction of the Berg River Dam on condition that the CCT reduces the demand for water by 20% by the year 2020. The BWP is the first bulk water resource development project in South Africa that is directly linked to water demand management. The BWP comprises the 65 m high Berg River Dam and the Supplement Scheme situated approximately 12 km downstream (Figures 1, 2, 3). The Supplement Scheme consists of a 1.6 m high diversion weir that will divert a portion of the winter high flows (from the stream flows from the three Figure 1: The Berg River Dam is located in the south west of South Africa, near the town of Franschhoek. © SAIEA 2009 2 Nigel Rossouw, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority Client: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (for the EIA) and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority THE BERG WATER PROJECT: (for the EMP) CHARTING THE FUTURE FOR LARGE DAMS Brief description of the development & alternatives considered Figure 2: The Berg River Dam Figure 3: The supplement scheme consisting of the diversion weir and balancing dam © SAIEA 2009 3 Nigel Rossouw, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority Client: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (for the EIA) and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority THE BERG WATER PROJECT: (for the EMP) CHARTING THE FUTURE FOR LARGE DAMS Environmental setting EIA process followed Biophysical environment: of workers in formal employment rely on seasonal There were two concurrent and parallel processes. labour on farms. The scenic beauty of Franschhoek One was the Western Cape Systems Analysis The natural vegetation within the dam inundation with its surrounding winelands makes it a popular (WCSA), which was a catchment-wide strategic area has been severely disturbed by decades of tourist destination, so employment is aligned to options analysis process. The other process was forestry and agriculture, with the result that there the tourism and agricultural sectors. Franschhoek the Berg River Dam Integrated Environmental are no substantial areas of intact natural vegetation is also home to a significant percentage of affluent Management (IEM) process, which consisted of worthy of conservation. Forestry plantations, residents. the EIA process and implementation of the together with invasion of the floodplain and river Environmental Management Plan (EMP). channel by exotic vegetation, have significantly modified the natural river morphology. Due to Public participation formed an important element river habitat degradation and the introduction of in all of the planning activities. The evaluation alien fish two of the indigenous fish species from of options was the first attempt in South Africa the Berg River are now on the IUCN Red Data to include a full range of stakeholders in decisions list. The upper reaches of the catchment are affecting water demand and supply. The process considered critical in terms of fish conservation. involved over 1,100 people and organisations. Socio-economic environment: The Western Cape System Analysis process involved five public workshops held in various The population of Franschhoek, which is located towns in the Western Cape, which were attended close to the dam, was estimated at 16,000 in 2001 by a broad range of representatives. These but now stands at about 40,000. The local workshops led up to a Conference to define criteria communities range widely in terms of their socio- for evaluating the various water supply options economic profile. Under 5% of the population presented in the WCSA and to make have no income, while 65.8% have an income of recommendations as to the favoured options for less than US$6,500 per annum. According to a implementation. household survey conducted as part of the Berg River Dam social-monitoring programme, 34% Prior to 1997 there was no legal requirement to © SAIEA 2009 4 Nigel Rossouw, Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority Client: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (for the EIA) and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority THE BERG WATER PROJECT: (for the EMP) CHARTING THE FUTURE FOR LARGE DAMS EIA process followed undertake EIAs. However an EIA for the Berg requirements (IFR) they would find acceptable. libraries in the Upper Berg River area, as well as River Dam was undertaken on a voluntary basis Although the workshop did not conclude the selected libraries in the Lower Berg River area. in terms of best international practice. discussion on the desired future state of the river, Environmental and social studies were initially it provided a useful opportunity to explore the An independent review was undertaken to ensure broad-based, but became increasingly detailed in methodology used, and put the debate on the IFR compliance with the Integrated Environmental alignment with the technical and engineering for the river into perspective. Management (IEM) guidelines put out by the components of the studies. These covered the South African Department of Environmental disciplines of archaeology, botany, tourism, fluvial A crucial aspect of the planning stage of the IEM Affairs, and to ensure that public issues and geomorphology, social aspects, economics, process was the preparation and dissemination of concerns had been addressed. The EIA concluded instream flow requirements and forestry. information on the proposed dam. In this respect, that there were no impacts so significant that the media coverage was sought in local daily and dam should not be built.
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