Zeekoe forum committed to improving inland water quality
13 November 2024
Collaborative efforts between community stakeholders and the City are key to improving inland water quality. In support of this approach, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien, joined the Zeekoe Catchment Management Forum (ZK-CMF) for a walk along sections of the vast Zeekoe catchment, on Wednesday, 6 November 2024, to determine priorities where interventions are needed.
The ZK-CMF brings together the City’s Water and Sanitation directorate, the False Bay Nature Reserve (FBNR), local councillors, residents and businesses in the community around the catchment area. Local non-profit organisations also involved include the Friends of Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei (FOZR), Friends of Princessvlei and Friends of Edith Stephens Nature Reserve.
The purpose of the ZK-CMF is to drive interventions which focus on improving the ecological health and water quality of the Zeekoe catchment.
‘As part of its Mayoral Priority Programme (MPP) the Water and Sanitation Directorate has established catchment management forums (CMFs) in areas where community partnership and joint initiatives to improve inland water quality are needed. The visit to the Zeekoevlei catchment was valuable in understanding how the different sections each present their own unique set of challenges,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
At the ZK-CMF inaugural meeting in June 2024, Dr Liz Day, a freshwater ecologist specialising in river and wetland water management and rehabilitation, was elected chairperson. Appointed alongside her was Deputy Chairperson Xoli Fuyani, an environmental educator passionate about inter-generational development and school programs.
Since inception, the executive committee has engaged with other catchment forum chairpersons to explore synergies and keep communication channels open. They have also participated in workshops held to further clarify their roles and responsibilities.
’We need to maintain and grow the current levels of enthusiasm from both community members and our City partners in attending to the pressing problems that currently characterise this catchment. With ongoing determination and support from all invested stakeholders, we can turn the situation around and start to see a measurable difference in the condition of the Zeekoe catchment,’ said Dr Day.
One of the short term objectives that the team has worked towards closely with the City’s Catchment, Stormwater and River Management (CSRM) branch, is to develop an intervention-strategy for the catchment. Key initiatives that will be spearheaded through collaboration with FOZR and FBNR include plans to address the high levels of solid waste, water quality pollution and invasive aquatic vegetation.
Discussions are also under way with The Litter Boom Project and FOZR for new litter fence options that could be installed to benefit the catchment. Future collaboration with the City’s Urban Waste Management is also in the pipeline to proactively combat the solid waste challenges.
Overall, issues of immediate concern that the ZK-CMF would like to address are:
• Reducing solid waste in rivers and wetlands, particularly by intercepting waste close to source
• Improving water quality by attending to point-source pollution inflows
• Managing risks to water quality from wastewater systems through close collaboration between Water and Sanitation branches including CSRM, Wastewater Treatment and Reticulation
• Addressing water hyacinth invasion strategically and on a large scale across the catchment
• Supporting wetland conservation efforts to retain high biodiversity value‘In the previous financial year, the City installed three waste interceptors in the Princessvlei area. The plan for this year is to install four more along the Big Lotus River, Zeekoevlei and the Italian Road Canal leading to Rondevlei. This is in addition to technical interventions, such as dredging the Zeekoevlei to improve water quality and upgrading the Zeekoevlei/Rondevlei weir complex to better regulate water levels and flow in these critical wetland areas.
‘It’s exciting to see the plans unfold. Undoubtedly, under the leadership of Dr Day and Ms Fuyani, there will be a marked improvement observed in the condition of the catchment in the coming months,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
About the Zeekoe catchment
The Zeekoe catchment spans approximately 9 300 hectares across the Cape Flats, eventually draining into False Bay. Its boundaries extend from the north of the N2 highway to its channelised outlet near Sunrise Beach in Muizenberg.
The catchment incorporates significant water bodies and wetlands, including:
• The Big and Little Lotus rivers, which feed into Zeekoevlei
• The Southfield Canal, which drains into Princessvlei
• Rondevlei and seasonal wetlands like Bamboesvlei near Ottery
• The Edith Stephens Wetlands
• Wetlands in the Philippi Horticultural Area
Both Zeekoevlei and Rondevlei lie within the FNBR where repurposed, treated sewage ponds from the Cape Flats Wastewater Treatment Works are situated. In 2015, FBNR attained international Ramsar Wetland Accreditation, recognising it as a critical habitat for water birds and other species of high conservation value.
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Published by:
Media Office, City of Cape Town
