Calming troubled waters

KNYSNA NEWS - While the problem of flooding persists, plaguing Knysna Golf Club and the residents of Hunter's Home and Fisher Haven, there remains hope for a solution to the problem.

This became clear at a site meeting on Monday 17 July where representatives of SANParks, Knysna Municipality and Knysna Golf Club convened to catch up with the latest progress in remedying the situation.

There was large frustration going into the meeting, that not much had been done by the authorities to deal with the frequent flooding in Thesen and Howard streets as well as on the ninth hole of the course at Knysna Golf Club.

"To us and many people it seemed like the municipality simply put up some barricades on each end of the problem in Howard Street and left it at that, without telling us what their plan is going forward," said Meyer du Toit, general manager at Knysna Golf Club, during the site meeting.

"It's [been] felt for a long time that nothing is being done, and we are suffering because of it."

One could be forgiven for looking at the sometimes calm waters and thinking you're on the edge of a small lake. That is, until you realise it is meant to be a road. Photo: Blake Linder

Residential struggles

Hein Dixon, who represented the residents at the meeting, outlined the impacts the flooding has had on them.

"We are unable to make use of Howard Street now, because of the flooding that has severely damaged and degraded the road," he said. "In Thesen Street the flooding has at times blocked off people's driveways and they couldn't even get off to work in the mornings. Over and above this, the domestic staff that work in the area have to walk the long way round to get to work, or wear gumboots in the morning.

"It simply isn't practical, and it's gone on for far too long."

Residents who would normally just make use of Howard Street to get home, now have to travel a longer route via Wilson Street, which itself is prone to flooding if enough rain falls. "There will come a day where we will be trapped and unable to go to work or anywhere else. Something needs to be done."

Taxi drivers are amongst some of the motorists who choose to drive around the barriers and traverse the flooded portion of Howard Street.

'A lack of action'

Du Toit pointed out that he and the management have consistently come under fire from club members, as they think that the lack of action in remedying the problems at the ninth hole is the fault of the golf club.

"The flooding we are experiencing and that is damaging our course is caused by the many blockages in the storm water culvert that flows past the ninth. And we're not allowed to clear this out due to environmental legislation," Du Toit explained.

Manager of Environmental Management at Knysna Municipality, Pam Booth, explained why it may seem that nothing has been done when in fact a fair deal has been done. "We have to adhere to very strict environmental legislation lined out in Nema [National Environmental Management Act] when doing any work that can have environmental and ecological impacts," she said.

"Moving more than five cubic metres of earth requires approval from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment [DFFE]. This is why we couldn't approve any plans by the golf club to clean out the culvert themselves."

Coming up with a plan

Booth elaborated, saying that they enlisted the services of an external, independent freshwater and aquatics specialist to draft up a maintenance management plan (MMP). This will allow them to clear out any stormwater drainage and culverts through which the Bigai River flows before reaching the estuary.

"Simply just clearing out these culverts and drainage systems could have significant and negative knock-on effects for the estuary," said Maretha Alant, environmental planner for the Garden Route National Park. Another large part of the reason why an MMP is needed, is because some of the culverts are not hard infrastructure, such as concrete-lined drainage systems, but natural water flow pathways.

In order to carry out the MMP, Knysna Municipality solicited the services of freshwater science and aquatic ecosystem expert Dr Jackie Dabrowski of Confluent Environmental. "Dr Dabrowski has drafted and put together a very comprehensive MMP that outlines exactly what needs to be done and how we should do it," Booth explained.

"We've already given the MMP to the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency for approval, and once that's received we'll pass it on to DFFE for final approval."

Some residents who have more elevated and better-suited vehicles still brave driving through the waters.

Going forward

Booth also explained that provision has already been made in the 2023/24 municipal budget for the implementation of the MMP through the appropriate department. The MMP plans only deal with the infrastructure within the low-lying wetland area of the Bigai River catchment.

The municipality will evaluate what effects this roll-out will have and then base its next steps for a larger project across the whole catchment in the future. "The idea is to tackle the pressing issues that we hope will alleviate the flooding issues, and then tackle what remains from there," Booth said.

Knysna-Plett Herald is still studying the MMP that has been drafted, and will provide a breakdown of some highlights in next week's edition.

Taxi drivers are amongst some of the motorists who choose to drive around the barriers and traverse the flooded portion of Howard Street.