Eerste/Kuils River Catchment Management Forum holds inaugural meeting
07 April 2025
The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is proud to announce the establishment of the Eerste/Kuils River Catchment Management Forum (EKR CMF) following its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, 26 March 2025. This is one of the largest catchments in Cape Town, consisting of the Eerste and Kuils rivers as well as five other tributary rivers and watercourses.
The purpose of the EKR CMF is to promote community-driven initiatives aimed at improving the condition of polluted rivers and their surrounding environment.
Multiple stakeholders residing or working in the area, operating businesses, and conducting industrial/agricultural activities in and around the catchment; are invited to become members of the forum. Working together with the City, the objective is to find solutions which help reduce urban pollution ending up in rivers, canals and waterbodies.
About the catchment area
The Eerste River flows largely outside of the City’s boundaries, entering the city in its lower reaches where it joins its major tributary, the Kuils River. These rivers pass through Macassar, Sandvlei, Kuils River, Brackenfell, Driftsands, Faure, Forest Village, Mfuleni, Blue Downs, Rotterdam, Wesbank, Kalkfontein, Brackenfell, Durbanville and many more suburbs that contribute to the catchment via the stormwater system.
The catchment falls within 37 wards and eight sub-councils, covers a total area of 652km², and comprises of five rivers and watercourses – Kuils River; Bottelary River; Eerste River; Kleinvlei Canal, a formalised canal that drains the Blue Downs area and the Helderspruit River.
In 2024, the directorate compiled a comprehensive Pollution Abatement Strategy and Action Plan (PASAP). It provides an overview of the Kuils River catchment and the ambient water quality of its waterways, identifies the main pollution sources, and provides a strategic approach and action plan to address pollution.
Some of the sources of pollution include:
• Informal settlements, runoff from vehicle wash areas as well farming activities
• Treated effluent from Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW)
• Sewer spills
• Polluted effluent from surrounding industries/factories
• Sewer pump station failures
• Solid waste
• Illegal dumping
Join the next meeting
All interested and affected parties (including residents, businesses, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), environmental groups and Friends of the River Groups are encouraged to join the forum and attend its quarterly meetings.
Date and time: Thursday, 15 May 2025, at 17:00
Venue: Kuils River Council Chambers, Kuils River Municipal Building, Corner of Carinus and Van Riebeeck Road, Kuils River
This meeting will be crucial as elections of the office bearers will take place for the positions of chairperson, vice chairperson and the secretariat.
‘Once the chairperson and office bearers have been appointed, I look forward to inviting the executive of the EKR CMF for a river walk to see first-hand the challenges experienced in the catchment.
‘The establishment of this forum marks a significant step forward in our strategic commitment towards improving inland water quality through community engagement. We are setting up these fora in various catchments as a platform for various stakeholders to tackle the pollution of our waterways by working collaboratively,’ said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
Caption 1: The first meeting to establish the Eerste/Kuils River CMF took place on 26 March 2025 at the Kuils River Council Chambers.
Caption 2: Gehardt Muller (City Water and Sanitation, Head: Catchments Planning Region 3), presented some of the challenges affecting the condition of the catchment and the objectives of establishing the catchment forum.
Caption 3: Community stakeholders participating in the discussion at the Eerste/Kuils River CMF inaugural meeting.
Caption 4 (Dropbox): City representatives at the Eerste/Kuils River CMF inaugural meeting on 26 March 2025. From left: Ash-Lee Adams, Wayne Davids (back), Alderman Johannes van der Merwe, Mark van Heever and Anele Viti (front).
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
