City’s free Urban Watercourse Guideline gives insight on how to improve urban watercourses and developing around them
21 August 2022
The City of Cape Town has created the Urban Watercourse Guideline as part of its Green Infrastructure Programme. This free resource is now available to all residents and provides practical guidelines on how to enhance and improve the watercourses and adjacent public open spaces across Cape Town.
Link to the Urban Watercourse Guideline available here: https://bit.ly/CCT-WatercoursesGuide
‘We urge all those involved in the Building and Development sector and neighbourhood groups especially to make use of this helpful resource. The Urban Watercourse Guideline provides practical advice on how to enhance and conserve the watercourses in Cape Town especially for those looking to develop in areas adjacent to our waterbodies; or those who live close to these areas. It also encourages communities to work with each other and the City to improve watercourses and adjacent public open space, for it to be a community asset that can be enjoyed by all,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
The City’s Environmental Management Department in collaboration with the Catchment Stormwater and River Management Branch has created the Green Infrastructure Programme’s: Urban Watercourse Guideline.
‘Our rivers, wetlands and lakes are an important part of Cape Town’s urban fabric and can enhance the quality of life and the spaces around us. Watercourses can be attractive and multifunctional features in Cape Town. They can provide places of beauty for people to appreciate; recreational amenity and value, be ecologically functional, and support a wealth of biodiversity. These spaces also offer opportunities for education, for play, to connect communities and provide access to green open space’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
Urban watercourses are an important part of Cape Town’s urban fabric and can enhance quality of life and the spaces around us. Watercourses can be attractive and multifunctional features in Cape Town. They can provide places of beauty for people to appreciate; recreational amenity and value, be ecologically functional, and support a wealth of biodiversity. These spaces also offer opportunities for education, for play, to connect communities and provide access to green open spaces.
The City’s Urban Watercourse Guideline aims to assist the public with advice on how to improve the condition of some of these watercourses in order for more of these areas to become the beautiful natural assets which they have the potential to be.
There are a number of examples of urban watercourses in Cape Town which provide ecosystem services as well as social, ecological and economic benefits and opportunities. Examples such as the Upper Liesbeek River Garden ; Silvermine river wetlands and Kirstenhof wetlands provide inspiration to turn those watercourses in the city which are perceived as ‘liabilities’ into assets.
The Urban Watercourse Guideline includes insight on the following :
• Planning process considerations for development adjacent to watercourses
• Developing appropriately adjacent to watercourses to reduce the impact of flooding on people and property
• Responsible watercourse bed and/or bank modification and stabilisation
• Preventing pollution of watercourses to enable healthy ecological functioning and a safe watercourse with improved water quality
• Establishing a buffer adjacent to the watercourse to protect the watercourse
• Invasive plant species in or adjacent to a watercourse that need to be controlled and/or removed
• Planting locally indigenous species that are appropriate to the particular area and watercourse
• Being aware of animals that live in or use watercourses and limiting potential impacts on them
• Improving the amenity value of urban watercourses
• Working with your community to help improve and maintain your watercourse
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
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