Report No: 4769/402238

River Environmental Management Plan

Berg River and major tributaries within the

Drakenstein Municipality of the

Draft Report

February 2009

Freshwater Consulting Group 81 Church Street Bergrivier Boulevard P.O. Box 1347 6 Flamingo Crescent P.O. Box 1 Zeekoevlei 8000 7941 7622

Tel: (021) 481 2400 Tel: (021) 705 8672 Tel: (021) 807 4500 Fax: (021) 424 5588 Fax: (021) 705 8672 Fax: (021) 872 8054 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Email: ceo@.gov.za

1-i Project details

TITLE: River Environmental Management Plan: Berg River and major tributaries within the Drakenstein Municipality of the Western Cape

AUTHORS: John Foord, Michael Mangnall; Liz Day, Vere Ross- Gillespie, Geordie Ractliffe

SUBCONSULTANTS: Freshwater Consulting Group

CLIENT: Drakenstein Municipality

PROJECT NAME: Drakenstein River EMP

REPORT STATUS: Draft

REPORT NUMBER: 4769/402238

......

JOHN FOORD MICHAEL MANGNALL (Pr. Sci. Nat.)

Senior Environmental Practitioner Principal Environmental Practitioner

This report is to be referred to in bibliographies as: Drakenstein River Environmental Management Plan, 2008 © Ninham Shand (2008) No unauthorised reproduction, copy or adaptation, in whole or in part, may be made.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality 1-ii Abbreviations

BID Background Information Document CAPE Cape Action for People and the Environment CARA Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CFK Cape Floral Kingdom CWDM Cape Winelands District Municipality D:EA&DP Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning DMIDP Drakenstein Municipality: Integrated Development Plan DMSDF Drakenstein Municipality Spatial Development Framework DSDF Drakenstein Spatial Development Framework EMF Environmental Management Framework EMP Environmental Management Plan GEF Global Environmental Facility GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System GRP Gross Regional Product I&AP Interested and Affected Parties IDP Integrated Development Plan KAP Key Performance Area LED Local Economic Development MAP Mean Annual Precipitation MTSF Medium Term Strategic Framework NEMA National Environmental Management Act NHRA National Heritage Resources Act NSBA National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment NSDP National Spatial Development Perspective NWA National Water Act PAWC Provincial Administration: Western Cape PGDS Provincial Growth and Development Strategy PGWC Provincial Government of the Western Cape PPP Public Participation Process PSDF Provincial Spatial Development Framework RHP River Health Programme RSC Rural Service Centre SAHRA South African Heritage Resources Agency SANBI South African National Botanical Institute SAR Sodium Absorption Ratio SASS South African Scoring System SDF Spatial Development Framework SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SoE State of the Environment SPC Spatial Planning Categories TMG Table Mountain Group WCNCB Western Cape Nature Conservation Board WCPSDF Western Cape Provincial Spatial Development Framework WSSD World Summit on Sustainable Development WWTW Waste Water Treatment Works

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-iii Part 1 Introduction and Approach CONTENTS

1 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Study area ...... 1 1.2 Terms of Reference ...... 2 1.3 Assumptions and limitations ...... 3 1.4 Structure of the Drakenstein River EMP ...... 5 1.4.1 Part 2: Overview of the study area ...... 5 1.4.2 Part 3: Implications of key catchment activities for wetland systems and landusers ...... 6 1.4.3 Part 4: Sub-catchment approach to the Situation Assessment ...... 6 1.4.4 Part 5: River Environmental Management Plan ...... 6 1.4.5 Part 6: Training and Implementation ...... 7 2 Approach Public Participation ...... 8 2.1 The Register of Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) ...... 8 Annexure 1: I&AP and Key Stakeholders ...... 10

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1-1: River EMP development and finalisation schedule ...... 9

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1-1: The Cape Winelands District Municipality (dark grey) including the Drakenstein Municipality (blue) in the Western Cape (light grey) ...... 2

LIST OF ANNEXURES

Annexure 1: I&AP and Key Stakeholders ...... 10

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-1

1 INTRODUCTION

The Berg River and, to a lesser extent, the Molenaars and Mosselbank Rivers are important components of the natural ecosystems of the Drakenstein Municipal Area. They also play a vital role in setting the socio-economic context of the Drakenstein Municipal Area. Water is from these rivers and their catchments is used extensively for agriculture, industry and domestic requirements. These activities in turn affect river water quality, through the return flow of polluted water from agricultural areas, urban runoff and waste water effluents. Poor water quality and unnatural flow regimes, impacted on by abstraction and irrigation releases, reduce aquatic biodiversity and affect ecosystem integrity. These impacts are in turn associated with increased costs in purification of river water for re-use, increased risks to human health and compromises in the export quality of agricultural produce. The purpose of the River Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is to:  Identify and demarcate the riverine environment within the Drakenstein Municipality;  Describe broad land use designations and management policies affecting and affected by this environment; and  Make broad recommendations regarding the rehabilitation and/or management of the identified riverine environment. Relevant legislative, policy, guideline and planning documentation have been collated into a strategic-level River EMP to be used as a management tool for the Berg River and its major tributaries, as well as the affected reaches of the Molenaars and Mosselbank Rivers. The purpose and ultimate aim of the River EMP is to inform and facilitate both the management and potential sustainable development of municipal riverine environments. The River EMP will feed into the development of the Drakenstein Environmental Management Framework (EMF). In order to meet the above objectives, Ninham Shand Consulting Services’ Environmental Discipline Group (Ninham Shand), in conjunction with Dr. Liz Day of the Freshwater Consulting Group, was appointed by the Drakenstein Municipality to develop a River EMP for the Berg River and its major tributaries within the municipal area. This section of the River EMP provides a brief introduction to the document and outlines its structure. Also included are the assumptions and limitations of the study and the terms of reference provided by the Drakenstein Municipality to undertake this project as well as the public participation process undertaken for the development of this River EMP.

1.1 Study area The Drakenstein River EMP covers the Berg River and all its major tributaries, as well as those portions of the Molenaars and the Mosselbank Rivers that fall within the Drakenstein Municipality. The Drakenstein Municipality (Figure 1-1) is a local municipality within the Cape Winelands District Municipality northeast of the City of Cape Town, in the Western Cape. Surrounding local municipalities include the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Swartland Municipality, Bergriver Municipality, Witzenberg Municipality, Breede Valley Municipality and the Stellenbosch Municipality.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-2

Figure 1-1: The Cape Winelands District Municipality (dark grey) including the Drakenstein Municipality (blue) in the Western Cape (light grey)

Source Wikimedia, 2007

1.2 Terms of Reference The Drakenstein Municipality sought to develop a River EMP to collate the various guidelines and management recommendations that exist for the Berg River and its tributaries into a single document that can be used and developed as the official reference source for future implementation programmes and projects involving rivers in the municipal area. The River EMP includes the following:  Analysis of the requirements stipulated in relevant local and district level planning and policy documentation, e.g. Integrated Development Plan (IDP), State of Environment Report (SOER), Spatial Development Framework (SDF), etc. with regards to the management of the Berg River and its surrounding environs.  The findings of a broad-scale situation assessment of the rivers in the Drakenstein area.  Specific management measures to address major ecological, human health and economic issues associated with river use in the Drakenstein area.  An outline of the process for the implementation of the findings and recommendations of the River EMP.  A framework plan that could be used as a basis to train key people and/ or parties about the management of the Berg River, and would provide suggestions on succession planning.  Recommendations with regards to potential sources of local and international funds to finance the proposals stemming from the development of the River EMP, training and other operational requirements such as regular monitoring  Guidelines on methods to integrate the findings of the River EMP into the GIS system currently used by the municipality  Guidelines for a training programme for the broader community in order to facilitate the effective implementation of the recommendations of the River EMP River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-3

 Guidelines for a project-specific public participation process, with the long-term goal of possibly involving educational institutions and local NGOs in the management of the identified conservation area/s. 1.3 Assumptions and limitations It is assumed that:  The information drawn on by this study that has been sourced from planning documentation and documentation provided by the Drakenstein Municipality is comprehensive and accurate.  The most accessible portions of the study area are those in most need of management / rehabilitation action – thus accessible areas are assumed to represent the worst case scenario within each management unit, and to be similar to other accessible areas in the same units. The findings of this study are also subject to the following limitations:  The scope of the River EMP did not allow for the collection of new biophysical, chemical, geographical or socio-economic data and the Situation Assessment thus relied extensively on existing reports and databases. Ground truthing of subcatchment condition did form a major part of the field component of this study – however, this involved broad based, visual assessments only.  Not all portions of the municipal area are equally accessible, and given the limited time allocated for ground truthing, most of this time was spent traversing the more accessible areas, on the assumption that these will be the more impacted. Assessments of the following areas was based primarily on aerial photographs and existing reports: o All mountainous areas, in particular those forming the eastern boundary of the Drakenstein Municipal. o Portions of the Nature Reserve immediately east and south of Vöelvlei Dam. o Restricted Areas under the control of the South African Defence Force. o Estates or other areas within private ownership that specifically refused access to their properties for the purposes of ground truthing.  The study area was assessed at the scale of subcatchments, which were deemed to be the smallest unit for which realistic assessment was possible, given the size of the study area. This said, however, assessed areas that did not conform to generic ratings at a subcatchment level were highlighted as “exceptions”, and rated individually or redflagged for particular attention.  The naturalised and present day flows for the Drakenstein subcatchments were derived from the updated hydrology in the Berg River catchment in the Water Availability Assessment Study (WAAS) (DWAF, 2008a). In this study, the catchment hydrology was calibrated on 17 flow gauges in the Berg River catchment, and the naturalised and present day flows were generated for the period 1927-2004. The following limitations and assumptions were made: o A major limitation in this study was the availability of the catchment rainfall in the high-lying areas of the catchment. Although the rainfall surface was updated as

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-4

part of the Berg WAAS study, there are still not enough rainfall gauges in the mountainous areas. o Accurate information on the distribution and water use of different crop types is currently being revised and may result in updated present-day flows for the study area. o The catchment areas in the Berg WAAS and the Drakenstein study differed and, as a result, it was necessary to apportion the WAAS catchment flows for the Drakenstein sub-catchments which were in most cases smaller than the WAAS catchments.  The terms of reference for this study did not include allowance for mapping of wetland extent and the provision of a wetlands map for the Drakenstein Municipality. Instead, significant wetlands were spot-marked with a handheld GPS, and identified in the GIS cover for the study area (Figure 4.5) . This cover is not however intended to take the place of a detailed wetland map.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-5

1.4 Structure of the Drakenstein River EMP The present section (Part 1) of the River EMP provides background information regarding the delineation of the study area and the terms of reference for the study (Chapter 1). In addition it provides an outline of the public participation process and other forms of liaison that have been undertaken and have informed the outcomes of this study. Chapter 2 of Part 1 outlines the overall approach to formulating the River EMP. The remaining sections of the River EMP comprise:  Part 2 – Overview of the study area  Part 3 – Implications of key catchment activities for wetland systems and landusers  Part 4 – Subcatchment approach to Situation Assessment  Part 5 – River Environmental Management Plan  Part 6 – Training and implementation The content and structure of Parts 2 - 6 are as follows:

1.4.1 Part 2: Overview of the study area Part 2 provides an overview of the study area as a whole, and background into landuse issues affecting riverine function. It includes a synthesis and overview of the following:  Relevant legislation, regulations, guidelines and policies applicable to the Drakenstein Municipality, within the context of management of the Berg River, its tributaries and other river systems in the study area.  The planning and management context for affected rivers, including a preliminary collation of the various sources of information, recommendations and guidelines concerning rivers of the Drakenstein area. Background information for the Berg, Molenaars and Mosselbank Rivers and their catchments, which was sourced from previous studies in the area and through collaboration with representatives from other organisations who have knowledge of the area.  Different roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in the Drakenstein municipal area within the ambit of management of river systems.  Baseline biophysical information for the main river systems of the Drakenstein area, including information regarding: o Biodiversity and conservation issues o Water quality and water chemistry o Hydrology and flooding issues o Planning aspects  Context for the subdivision of major catchments into sub-catchment areas, to facilitate assessment as well as level of management detail.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-6

1.4.2 Part 3: Implications of key catchment activities for wetland systems and landusers Part 3 provides an overview of landuse practices that have an impact (positive or negative) on river condition. It includes the following:  Wetland terminology and descriptions.  Importance of rivers and wetlands.  Implications of various land- and water-use activities for rivers and other wetlands, as well as for land users.

1.4.3 Part 4: Sub-catchment approach to the Situation Assessment This section focuses on providing largely qualitative descriptions of river systems in the study area. These have been divided into subcatchments, each of which is separately described in terms of the following:  Hydrology.  Major landuse type.  Presence of biodiversity priority areas at a subcatchment level.  Broad description of ecosystems at a subcatchment scale.  Important ecological corridors.  Current biodiversity assets.  Major impacts / issues affecting the system.  Contribution of subcatchments to catchment level river health and integrity – this is based on hydrological modelling and was carried out for the Berg River subcatchments only where data were considered more reliable.

1.4.4 Part 5: River Environmental Management Plan The River EMP is based on the findings of the Situation Assessment and has been compiled to facilitate the effective and efficient conservation and management of river systems by the Drakenstein Municipality. The River EMP includes the following:  Compilation of a Strategic Plan for identified management areas, developed in terms of defined management objectives, strategies and actions needed to meet these objectives in each management unit; biological or physical indicators of implementation success for each strategy. Note that the Strategic Plan identifies rehabilitation measures at a conceptual level only. More detailed input could be developed for specific areas during later phases.  Prioritisation of freshwater ecosystems for management and rehabilitation objectives, based on habitat quality, the sensitivity and resilience of receiving environments, and their influence on downstream systems.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-7 1.4.5 Part 6: Training and Implementation The River EMP will only be useful if it is applied appropriately in the context of its intended purpose. Part 6 outlines the training and tools required to achieve the most benefit from the River EMP and provides guidance on who should be trained.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-8

2 APPROACH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Consultation with Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) forms an integral component of an EMP process and enables inter alia directly affected and neighbouring landowners, civic groups and stakeholders to raise and/or identify issues and concerns, which they feel should be addressed in the River EMP. The approach to the public participation process (“PPP”) for the River EMP has taken cognisance of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (D:EA&DP) Draft Guideline on Public Participation (2006) and the DEAT Guideline on Stakeholder Engagement (2002). The approach adopted for the initiation of the River EMP process was to determine with the Drakenstein Municipality how the River EMP should be structured and what contextual information needed to be included. An initial workshop was held at the Drakenstein Municipality on 7 August 2007 with the task team consisting of municipal officials, Dr. Liz Day and Ninham Shand. The workshop formalised the task team, discussed what resources were available to draw from to obtain background information, determined the scope of the River EMP and identified the key stakeholders. The purpose of the workshop was to obtain input from the key stakeholders regarding the Draft Situation Assessment, to ensure that gaps in the information were identified and to obtain buy-in from key stakeholders for the River EMP process. A second meeting was held at the Drakenstein Municipality in Paarl on 19 May 2008 with the task team to discuss what data and information had been collected and the way forward. One-on-one engagement with various key stakeholders and personnel with particular knowledge about different aspects of the Drakenstein river systems will take place once the draft has been finalised. A third workshop will be held at the Drakenstein Municipality to present the River EMP to the Task Team and other Key Stakeholders. The Key Stakeholders are people with particular knowledge of the study area e.g. CapeNature, Working for Wetlands and Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) regional personnel for species-level and other useful information from a conservation perspective. Based on feedback received from the workshop, additional information may need to be collected and incorporated into the report for subsequent reconsideration by the Task Team and finalisation of the Situation Assessment.

2.1 The Register of Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) A register of I&APs was compiled from known expertise in the Drakenstein Municipality, conservation and conservation management bodies with interests in the Drakenstein Municipal Area. This database was augmented via chain referral, and is continuously updated as new I&APs are identified or request to be registered. The I&AP Register is included in Annexure 1.

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-9

The schedule for the development and finalisation of the River EMP is outlined below. Table 1-1: River EMP development and finalisation schedule Date Action I&AP 7 August 2007 Project inception meeting Municipal officials and Liz Day 16 May 2008 Compile Draft Situation Ninham Shand and Liz Day Assessment 19 May 2008 Workshop Municipal officials, Liz Day and conservation organisations 5 December Compile draft River EMP Ninham Shand and Liz Day 2008 17 January Workshop Municipal officials and conservation 2009 organisations Compile final draft River Ninham Shand EMP Signed off Drakenstein Municipality River EMP finalised and Ninham Shand bound

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-10

ANNEXURE 1: I&AP AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS I&AP Organisation E-mail Address

Albert van der Merwe SANParks [email protected] Drakenstein Municipality (Water Andre Kowalewski [email protected] and sewer) Drakenstein Municipality (Forward Ashley Roelf [email protected] planning) Arnelle van Noie Cape nature [email protected] Drakenstein Municipality Chantelle De Kock [email protected] (Heritage) Drakenstein Municipality Cindy Prins [email protected] (Environmental) Clyde Lamberts Cape nature [email protected] Drakenstein Municipality (Roads Danie Carstens [email protected] and water) Drakenstein Municipality David Delaney [email protected] (Planning) Deon du Plessis Drakenstein Municipality (Civil) [email protected] Dian Dreyer Cape nature [email protected] Francois Richter Dept of Agriculture [email protected] Drakenstein Municipality Henk Strijdom [email protected] (Planning) Hermien Fourie Cape nature [email protected] Jimmy Knaggs Drakenstein Municipality [email protected] Drakenstein Municipality (Nature Louise de Roubaix [email protected] Reserves) Martin Albertus DEAT [email protected] Manfred Paulsen Working for Water [email protected] Mary-Jane Morrison Mega Team [email protected] Scharl de Villiers BotSoc [email protected] Dean Impson Cape Nature [email protected] Samantha Ralston Cape Nature [email protected] Mark Botha Botsoc [email protected] Don Kirkwood Cape Nature [email protected]

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality Approach and Background 1-11

Berg River Water Management I Spannenberg [email protected] Catchment Agency Berg River Conservation Enzer Schrauwen [email protected] Association Pierre De Villiers Cape Nature [email protected] Antoinette Veldtman Cape Nature [email protected]

River Environmental Management Plan: Drakenstein Municipality