The Final Tourism Strategy workshop is currently underway in Calitzdorp at the Town Hall. The workshops aim is to give feedback on the draft tourism strategy that has been developed. Also to consolidate final inputs into the document to ensure inclusivity.
| Hazard | Alert Level |
Valid from (SAST) |
Valid to (SAST) |
| Veld Fire Conditions | Warning | 28/01/19 – 09h00 | 29/01/19 – 18h00 |
| Veld fire conditions expected in places over the northern West Coast District and Peninsula of the Cape Metropole (Western Cape) today (Monday), but only in places over the Namakwa District (Northern Cape), Central and Little Karoo (Western Cape) tomorrow (Tuesday). |
| Description: Dangerous veld/bush fire conditions Whenever there are prolonged periods of little and no rain coupled withwarm dry winds, veld or bush fires can easily be sparked and will spreadrapidly in strong winds. Precautions: Dangerous veld/bush fire conditions Do not make fires in the open and/or leave fires unattended. Do not throw cigarette butts out of cars or in the open veld. Do not throw bottles in the veld as they can magnify the sun’s rays and start fires. Prepare and maintain fire breaks in controlled manner. In the case of a large fire, report it immediately and move away from the area to let the professionals deal with it. Never throw water onto a fire started by an electrical fault or fires started by oil or paraffin lamps. In this case, sand or a blanket should beused to smother the fire. Listen to the radio or TV for warnings and obey the instructions from Disaster Management Officers. Description: Extremely High Temperatures When temperature and the humidity is high at the same time, or when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold, human’s ability to cool theirbodies through sweating is reduced. This can be a real threat that may leads to hyperthermia. Precautions: Extremely High Temperatures Stay indoors in a cool room near a fan, if possible. The old and infirm must take extra care to stay hydrated and cool. Avoid strenuous outdoor activity, playing excessive sport and hard labour. Dress in light weight clothes and drink plenty of liquids, NOT alcohol. Listen to the radio or TV for warnings and obey the instructions from Disaster Management Officers. |
1.   Regional Waste Management Facility on Farm 419 Mossel Bay
The Development of a Regional Waste Management Facility on the property of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), Farm 419, will be finalised by the end of 2019.Â
The facility will occupy +-70% of the 205-hectare property (approximate size of 143.5 hectares) belonging to GRDM. A private partner was selected by GRDM and a Public Private Partnership agreement will soon be entered into between the District Council and the company. Constructing and operating the facility for a period of ten years will be the responsibility of the appointed company.
Bitou, Knysna, George and Mossel Bay Municipalities will make use of the Waste Management Facility which will deal with domestic and hazardous waste disposal. Mobile chipping and crushing facilities will be included to assist the four Local Municipalities with Green Waste Management.
In addition to the Regional Landfill Facility, the following two proposals were received and are subject to all applicable legislation, application requirements and approvals. One proposal was received from Ikusasa Processing Engineering Consultants (PTY) Ltd and the other from Moumakoe-Geza Joint Venture. Sufficient land (+-30% of the 205 hectares of land) is available on Farm 419 for these developments.
 2.   Ikusasa Processing Engineering Consultants (Pty) Ltd
The Garden Route Investment Conference, which was held in March 2018, stimulated the interest of two multi-national companies to invest in the Garden Route. One of the two, which is known as Ikusasa Processing Engineering Consultants (PTY) LTD, approached GRDM with a proposal stating their intent to erect a chemical plant that will support the wide variety of sectors in the region and outside portion of Farm 419 in Mossel Bay. The size will be determined once the necessary plans are finalised and presented to the Garden Route District Municipality and approved by Mossel Bay Municipality. Necessary studies i.e. EIA’s will also have to be undertaken for this proposed development.
3. Moumakoe-Geza Joint Venture
Moumakoe-Geza Joint Venture has recently requested to lease 10 hectares of GRDM land, which forms part of Erf 419, adjacent to PetroSA for the construction of lubricant oil or a lube oil blending plant. The plant will have the capacity of producing 20 800 000 liters of blended products per annum. Studies have revealed that South Africa has a lubricant demand of 2 million barrels per annum. This project is, therefore, a win-win solution for the Garden Route in terms of social and economic development. Necessary studies i.e. EIA’s will also have to be undertaken for this proposed development.
Most of the southern towns of the Garden Route District have bulk water in storage to address their current water demand, at least until the first winter rains. The northern parts of the Garden Route District are not looking good at the moment. Currently, the towns Calitzdorp and Zoar in the Kannaland Municipal area do not have a secondary water supply apart from their bulk storage dams.
In July 2018 the Raubenheimer dam, which is the main water source for Oudtshoorn, was at an extremely low level of 31%. Fortunately, rain over this area and a drop in the daily consumption lead to an increase in this dam’s level to 53,54% (measured at the end of December 2018). In addition to the Raubenheimer dam, Oudtshoorn has access to the Blossoms Wellfield that could still be connected to provide groundwater that would be able to sustain the basic water needs of about 50 litres per person, per day, should the town face a “day zero” scenario.
Unfortunately, the Kannaland municipal area is in a less fortunate position in terms of their main water supply at Nel’s Dam, which is located in Calitzdorp. The dam is at an alarmingly low level of 11%, leaving the town with approximately five months of water. In Zoar, the main source of water, the Tierkloof Dam ran dry after Christmas and their alternative source the Jongmansland dam on an farm Amalienstein which is at a 12% level. The water demand in this area is 1.4 megalitres of water per day, at the current rate of abstraction water in storage would last only for the next month.
The average water usage per household in the region is as follows:
Background on the situation in Kannaland
On 28 December 2018, the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Disaster Management Centre was contacted by Kannaland Municipality, who raised concerns that Zoar could run out of water due to the Tierkloof Dam level dropping to 10%. The Jongmansland dam, which is also an emergency augmentation dam in Kannaland was at a 20% level of water. Another issue is that the municipality has been experiencing serious challenges at their water purification works. The water treatment works are not equipped to deal with the poor quality of water supplied from both these dams. At the Calitzdorp water, purification works pose a similar problem, but added to this, the quality of water fed to town from the Nel’s dam had to include additional purification measures to ensure that the water quality stays fit for human consumption.
The GRDM Disaster Management Centre advised the Kannaland Municipality’s Technical Services to lower the pressure from the main water reservoirs that are supplying water to Zoar. The goal is to lower usage to 70 litres per person per day.
GRDM Disaster Centre also provided 3 x 5000-litre water tanks to be placed at the higher situated areas in Zoar, as these areas would be first to be affected due to the pressure reduction in the system. In addition, 1 980 x 5 litre bottled water (9 900 litres) and 7 992 x 2-litre bottle water (15 984 litres) were provided to be distributed to affected residents.
On the 17th of January 2019 the GRDM Head of Disaster Centre, Mr Gerhard Otto, joined the Kannaland Mayor, Cllr Magdalene Barry and Kannaland Municipal Manager, Mr Reynold Stevens in a meeting with Zoar community leaders to discuss the urgency of the town’s water situation as well as to inform community leaders that drastic steps would have to be taken to reduce the town’s water demand. Later on the same day, the GRDM Municipal Manager, Mr Monde Stratu and GRDM Executive Management met with the Kannaland Municipal Manager and his team to discuss the assistance required from the GRDM.
At this meeting, it was agreed that at this point in time both the towns, which include Ladismith and Van Wyksdorp, are not of immediate concern, but that the focus should be on Zoar and Calitzdorp’s. Steps will now be taken to ensure that water augmentation is prioritized and in place for the latter mentioned two towns. In order to address these urgent needs, a meeting with Provincial as well as National stakeholders was scheduled for Friday the 18th of January 2019.
On Friday, 18 January 2019’s meeting, the following action steps were resolved:
Due to immediate capacity constraints, the Provincial Department of Local Government will deploy a full-time engineer to assist Kannaland to develop and implement both short-and medium-term drought interventions;
At the GRDM Council Meeting on 21 January 2019, the following was resolved:
Employees of the Garden Route District Municipality (Garden Route DM) resorts were warmly commended by guests who visited one of the four resorts of Garden Route DM during the 2018/2019 summer holiday. These resorts include: Swartvlei Resort, Victoria Bay Caravan Park, De Hoek Mountain Resort and Calitzdorp Spa.
The Victoria Bay Caravan Park was fully booked from 15 December to 04 January, the Swartvlei Resort from 15 December to 2 January, De Hoek Mountain Resort was full from 24 December to 02 January and the Calitzdorp Spa was 65% booked from 24 December to 2 January. This period is regarded as the most critical period of the peak season.
“This year, visitors left from as early as 2 January, due to the early start of the schools,” Willie Fourie, Manager of Resorts at the Garden Route DM said. “With regard to the use of alcohol, visitors were prohibited from using alcohol at the pool areas to ensure the safety of all,” Fourie added.
Most guests described their stay as an “absolutely amazing experience” and the facilities and overall area as “neat, safe and as an area well-managed”. Apart from the experience of the stay, the staff members at all resorts were commended for their friendliness and helpfulness. One of the visitors said: “We felt safe all the time and really appreciated how well managed the entire area was”.
These four resorts are known for their diverse characteristics, practical and convenient locations and are liked by many for the quality of service they offer during a visitor’s stay.
Council and Management would like to extend a word of appreciation to all Resort staff for their continuous commitment and dedication to ensure that all visitors of the Garden Route DM resorts are well looked after. Visitors to these resorts will always regard their stay as an experience which they will always remember.
A selection of reviews received from the visitors:
15 January 2019
“At the launch of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF), launched in December 2018 in Mossel Bay, the event programme was packed by national and regional environmental scientists and specialists,” says Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) Secretariat.
Addressing various subjects relevant to the Garden Route environment, there was a common thread throughout all the presentations, namely that unless we take note of the various factors changing our environment, and plan well ahead in accordance, we are heading for an uncertain future.
Poor in infrastructure and resources, including fresh water, the Garden Route is not suitable nor capable of sustaining large populations.
Climate change is partly to blame for the drying out of the western and northern parts of the Garden Route, and the demise of agriculture in badly-affected areas are real and seemingly irreversible, as farmers and those dependent on making a living off the land are forced to make a new start elsewhere.
“Compounding the situation, over the past two decades we saw exponential growth in regional population, as well as a steady increase in tourists and holidaymakers,” says Meiring.
The steady economic demise of the Eastern Cape is not doing the Southern and Western Cape any favours as rural populations move south in the hope of finding a better life.
Cities such as East London and Nelson Mandela Bay are much better suited to accommodate vast populations in coming years, but continued political uncertainty, regional mismanagement and failure to increase economic growth options leave rural communities no choice but to leave the province.
According to Meiring, migration to cities is a worldwide phenomenon, and the RSA Government is well aware of the challenges lying ahead in managing the seemingly non-reversible trend.Â
“True to RSA politics, the national discourse does not recognise the imminent dangers to the population brought about by climate change and urban migration, and the inability of the government to plan for, and address the demands of the future, is alarming.”
“Enhanced populist policies, increased racial tension and economic divisions are drawing attention away from ensuring a resilient environment where the RSA population may stand a better chance for survival.”
As a mere example, by allowing the implosion of raw sewage management systems feeding into the Vaal River, and the resultant demise of freshwater systems, including exponential growth rates of invasive alien plants in catchments, will no doubt impact on the ability of Gauteng to sustain its burgeoning population.
Similarly, the Garden Route population must realise the value of its natural resources and the importance of the protection and management thereof. Ensuring that mountain catchments, rivers and seep lines are clear of invasive alien forests depleting freshwater resources and posing severe fire risks, are perhaps the most important environmental management challenge.
The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a regional forum for collaboration in conservation, environmental adaptation and community interaction. The forum aims to coordinate regional conservation efforts, serve as a catalyst to drive climate adaption practices in the Southern Cape and strive to establish a better-coordinated approach to environmental management.
WEBSITE: http://www.scli.org.za/gref
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Cobus Meiring: Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) Secretariat
Cell: 083 626 7619
Email: cobus@naturalbridge.co.za
The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) is committed to investigating adaptive climate change initiatives and successes. It is for this reason that the climate change team late last year visited the Berg-en-Dal Farm in Ladismith, which is the home of the Klein Karoo Sustainable Dry lands Permaculture Project (KKSDPP), founded in 1999. During the visit, the municipality’s climate change team was taken on an interactive and eye opening tour by Ms Alex Kruger, who passionately explained each step of their many diverse examples of sustainable climate change adaptation and mitigation examples. The KKSDPP provides a dynamic training environment on the concept of permaculture and its positive impacts on environmental sustainability within an uncertain future. The project team is providing working examples of a wide range of natural building approaches, waste and water recycling, sustainable energy generation and food production, amongst others, to illustrate climate change adaptation and mitigation as part of a sensitive yet dynamic socio-ecological system.
The severe and disastrous impacts of climate change calls for Municipalities to think differently about adaptation. Climate change is no longer a hypothetical future possibility, but an inescapable fact of everyday life. As climatologists become more certain about human effects on global atmospheric composition and their consequences, extreme weather events become ever more common and slower trends such as sea level rises and changes in seasonal weather patterns continue. The most recent summary report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reaches some stark conclusions. It predicts, with high levels of certainty, continued rises in global mean surface temperatures if greenhouse gas emissions are not abated, and alongside this, greater and more frequent extremes of heat, global increases in precipitation, and continued loss of Arctic sea ice. It also suggests that continued changes in many aspects of global climate systems are likely even if temperatures stabilise, and raises the possibility of abrupt shifts in some of these. As our understanding of the significance of climate change deepens, the view that responses will involve a transformation in human relationships with nature becomes increasingly widespread. It is an invitation to re-assess humanity’s place in the world, and to transform global society in ways that allow our continued survival. The concept of permaculture originated in just such a re-assessment, and has become a significant impetus for such a transformation.
Permaculture is the conscious design of human living environments that are reflections of the ecological principle that underlies nature. It includes a diversity of concepts, knowledge, strategies, tools, techniques and practices that are reshaping the world and providing compelling visions of what is possible. The permaculture principles are clear examples of how we can restructure, regenerate, restore, and renew, as part of the necessary tools for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
The KKSDPP is offering a wide diversity of services, courses, events and consultations to the public. They form a dynamic component of a network of permaculture and alternative living practitioners and organisations that spans the globe. The Garden Route District municipality appreciated this new and refreshing view of climate change adaptation – one that is exciting, inspiring, and engaging, and one that calls on us to step up to the adaptive challenge of climate change adaptation.
For more information on the KKSDPP or their various courses and initiatives on offer, please contact Ms Alex Kruger at kruger.alex@gmail.com or 072 241 1514. Â
Ms Nina Viljoen Manager: Disaster Risk Reduction & Climate Change Adaptation
Nina@gardenroute.gov.za
Tel: +27 (0)44 803 1318 | +27 (0)67 035 9203
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Although sewage effluent contains high levels of essential plant nutrients and minerals that stimulate growth, the use of effluent however also poses several short-and long-term health threats to the user. Effluent is mostly applied for irrigation during dry seasons with rapid evaporation of water, leaving behind high concentrations of non-biodegradable chemicals, which gradually drain into the groundwater and remain active for long periods of time, rendering it unfit for use.
The practice of re-using treated sewage effluent in times of great water scarcity and drought conditions is recognised internationally. This is mainly evident in the agricultural sector where sewage is diverted for irrigation of crops, orchards or even on recreational sport fields. This practice has now been extended to the irrigation of local household gardens. Local entrepreneurs are exploring this trade of distribution of sewage effluent. With the current water scarcity situation, this trade may be seen as an alternative water source as opposed to fresh water from the municipal distribution system. Section 24 of the CONSTITUTION OF REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, (ACT NO. 108 OF 1996), states that everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.
Relative health risk from sewage effluent usage
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are significant health implications associated with the use of sewage for irrigation. These “sewage chemicals” contain domestic, industrial, pharmaceutical and hospital waste discharges. The following chemicals may typically be found: salts, minerals, heavy metals, pesticide residues and synthetic compounds such as disinfection by-products, pharmaceutically active chemicals such as endocrine disrupters and various acids. Some chemicals, for example, bromodichloro-methane, may be associated with miscarriages in women, while heavy metals may accumulate in the leaves or roots of many vegetables, posing risks to human health when consumed.
Furthermore, sewage effluent (especially when inadequately treated) also contains high levels of micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites, of which the majority may pose a serious health threat after exposure/ingestion. Bacteria such as Salmonella, Shigella, Clostridium, several strains of Eschericia coli, and Vibrio cholera, as well as entero-viruses such as polio-, echo and coxsackie viruses are recognised human pathogens. Parasites or their microscopic ova, such as hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms and bilharzia are commonly found. The majority of these micro-organisms have the ability to remain viable and infective for periods up to 30 days and some even as long as several months.
While the reuse of sewage effluent seems to be sensible in times of water scarcity and may even look good as a long term solution, contact exposure to this water source or soil and plants or irrigated playgrounds and lawns may pose a serious health risk to keen gardeners and recreational sport field users. Symptoms may include diarrhoea, fever, generalised infections, infections of skin abrasions, malnutrition from worm infestation, to more serious long term effects from ingestion of aforementioned chemicals and heavy metals. Whilst the serious water shortage in the Garden Route region is recognised, the continued use of sewage effluent as source of irrigation for household gardens and crops is not recommended.
Please contact the Municipal Health Section of the Garden Route District Municipality for further information at 044- 803 1300.
This serves as official notification that Cllr Eleanore Bouw-Spies, on Thursday, 13 December 2018, during a Special Council Meeting, was inaugurated in as Councillor of the Garden Route District Council.Soon after her inauguration, she was also elected as the Speaker of the Garden Route District Municipality.
Council warmly welcomed Cllr Bouw-Spies as the new Speaker of the Garden Route District Municipality. Cllr Piet van der Hoven said: “We have full confidence in your ability to fulfill your task with dignity and fairness. Councillor Claudia Lichaba welcomed Cllr Bouw-Spies and said: “Congratulations, now we have a clear direction going forward and for that you should direct us with your leadership. We have now a lot of women in leadership positions,” she added.
The Speaker position became vacant after Councillor Mark Willemse (former Speaker) resigned on 11 June 2018. During the absence of the permanent speaker, Cllr Barend Groenewald acted as Speaker of Council and served for a period of 7 months.
Cllr Groenewald in his resignation letter as the acting Speaker, extended a word of gratitude to the Garden Route District Council. He thanked Council for the trust they bestowed on him during his acting period. In response to that, fellow councillors highly praised him for his leadership role during the past months and the excellent manner in which he directed all proceedings of Council.
