29/07/2024
We held our AGM on the 18/07/2024. Chairman Peter van Niekerk summed up the year in his CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
It is my pleasure to report on the activities of OREF for the period of the past financial year, 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
* Introduction
OREF was established in 2016 to monitor and advise on the implementation of the Estuary Management Plan (EMP) for the Onrus River estuary. The EMP resulted from an investigation in accordance with the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act (No. 24, 2008). It sets out actions to improve the estuary’s health, enhance its recreational utility and retain its sense of place. This is the seventh Annual Report.
* September 2023 Flood
An extreme flood event that occurred in the Onrus River during the night of 24 September 2023 drastically affected OREF’s programme. Not only was the morphology of the river and estuary
substantially transformed but clean-up and reparation actions necessitated the diversion of resources. Funding earmarked for reed management was required to urgently remove debris from the bathing areas and the beach. This substantially exhausted the account of the Onrus Lagoon Preservation Trust which, to that point, had been the major sponsor of the OREF and activities such as reed management.
* Meetings
Four Participants’ meetings were held during the year, with their kind invitation, at the Whale Coast Conservation’s “Green House”. A further five formal meetings of the Members of OREF (the civil society participants), called “Extended Chairco meetings”, were convened to deal with matters internally and to agree on recommendations, actions and priorities.
The 6th AGM was held on 20 July 2023.
* Participants
OREF’s membership remained stable throughout the financial year.
* Financial Overview (with contributions by Ian Flint)
The organisation’s finances for the year were dominated by the September 2023 flood. It speaks to the success of the public appeals for emergency donations and the generosity of the
response that the increases year on year of income and operating expenses were from R359,084 to R1,372,949 and R325,064 to R1,371,254 respectively. Operating profit fell from R34,020 to
R1,695 as all available funds were used to finalise the clean-up operation prior to the holiday season. The nearly five times increase in investment revenue (interest) was simply the result of holding much higher balances in the bank account because of the increase in donations.
Replacing the funding provided by the Lagoon Preservation Trust will be the challenge for the coming financial year. Nevertheless, taking the commitment of Reed Project funds into account, our modest administration expenses are still covered for the next one to two years.
The report of the independent auditors confirms that the accounts as of 31st March 2024 fairly represent the financial position of Onrus River Estuary Forum in accordance with the International Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities and the organisation’s Constitution.
* Responsible Management Authority (RMA) and the Estuary Advisory Forum (EAF)
At the first Participants’ meeting of the year, DEA&DP, acting now as the formally constituted RMA, advised OREF that it required the formation of a new advisory forum. OREF may apply for
membership of such an EAF to be constituted after the approval of the revised Estuary Management Plan (see next section). OREF expressed their surprise at this stance and asked for the reasons for, what OREF saw, as an illogical and unnecessary move. Further discussions were held at the three subsequent Participants’ meetings as well as at a separate meeting held in November 2023 with senior staff of DEA&DP. These meetings took place in a cordial spirit, but no resolution was found for what has become an unfortunate impasse. Further deliberations are necessary.
* Revised Estuary Management Plan
The process, started by DEA&DP in 2021, to review, and formally approve a revised Onrus River Estuary Management Plan (EMP), reached the point of submission for approval of the MEC. By
the end of the reporting period, it had not yet been approved.
* Water quality and recreational health
As the draft integrated recreational water quality management protocol between the Overstrand Municipality and the Overberg District Municipality, reported on in the previous Annual Report, was not making any progress, the RMA (i.e. DEA&DP) was asked to intervene.
Despite efforts the matter was still not approved by the end of the reporting period.
Except for the samplings in the estuary at the mouth and at the farm Ysendyk, the water quality programme all but collapsed during the year. As noted before, regular sampling and analysis of the water quality is fundamental to the management of the estuary for recreational use. This was discussed as matter of serious concern at the OREF meetings. BOCMA undertook to reassess their budget and programme for the following year.
Substantial progress was made during the year to address the long-standing concern regarding the risks of pollution associated with the Main sewage pumping station. An independent assessment was completed and OREF was given the opportunity to comment. The Overstrand Municipality consequently appointed a service provider to do provisional designs and conduct an environmental impact assessment. This work will continue into the following year.
Prior to the September flood event the bathing water quality at the Onrus River mouth remained at a “low risk” category. The flood damaged a number of sewage lines resulting in a lengthy period of pollution into the Onrus River. The estuary was closed for bathing and only opened early in December after the lines were repaired and water quality analyses showed it safe for full contact recreation. Unfortunately sampling results again showed high E coli levels in January, requiring closure for bathing from 16 to 29 January. Overstrand Municipality could not explain the cause of the high levels but found later in March that a blocked sewer was spilling sewage into the storm drainage system. At the end of the reporting period this issue was still being attended to.
Despite repeated request at the meetings the Overstrand Municipality was not able to report progress regarding measures of oversight of conservancy tanks to address possible contamination from these sources on private properties.
* Water Supply
While the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA) already reported in 2020 that they found a number of unauthorised water abstractions in the catchment of the Onrus
River, no further report on progress to deal with these abstractions could be elicited from BOCMA during this reporting period. The RMA was requested to assist in this regard.
As reported in the previous years the issue of invasive alien plant growth in the Onrus River catchment remains a concern for OREF. While there was acknowledgement by the authorities that this impacts on the freshwater inflow to the estuary, and should be addressed, follow-up action was hampered by inadequate allocation of funds and resources. This pertained to both private and Overstrand Municipality properties. The, so-called, Catchment-to-Coast Initiative, started during the reporting period, held great promise for a fresh approach to this vexing issue.
However, the severe damage to the wetland in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley due to the September flood diverted the attention of this initiative to the more urgent task of protecting the remainder of the wetland and to its rehabilitation.
* Awareness raising (with contributions by Caroline Gabb)
The OREF Website received on average 147 clicks per month. The site is mobile friendly and accessible with responsive images and layout. Over the period there were 2620 impressions (views) on Google search. It ranks on average in the top 20 search results on Google.
The OREF page has 1036 followers. We shared information about the Reed Clearing Project, the September flooding event and the Onrus Beach and Estuary clean up and, in February 2024, info about Buffel the Elephant Seal who moulted on Onrus Beach. These posts were all very positively received by the public.
In May 2023 we held a Q&A session at the De Wet Hall re the Reeds.
In February 2024, together with ORHA, an information video on the reed programme was produced to give an informative and corrective account of those activities.
OREF is represented on the Ward 13 Committee where information is conveyed to the other committee members to share with their constituents. OREF also works closely with the Onrus River Ratepayers' Association, which shares OREF information in their newsletters.
* Improving recreational utility: Reed Management (with contributions by Hennie Greeff)
A meeting was held on 16 May 2023 in Cape Town with DEA&DP as a follow-up to the exchange of correspondence between their enforcement department and OREF. At the meeting DEADP it became clear that, while the reed clearing activities undertaken by ORHA as implementing agent for OREF did not exceed any bounds, it would be advisable for OREF to withdraw from adopted MMP. OREF subsequently formally decided to withdraw the adopted MMP. DEADP and OM were accordingly informed.
On the 19 May 2023 a Public Meeting was held in the De Wet Hall regarding the reed cutting. The meeting was very well attended and many questions were asked by the public and answered by OREF and Liezl de Villiers of the OM. The support and feedback from the public was very positive as was a subsequent report in the local newspaper.
The massive and destructive storm of September 2023 stopped the reed program in its tracks. The estuary was inundated with trees, plants as well as mud, sand and silty materials from upstream. This effectively turned the lagoon into a shallow wetland scarcely 20cm deep. Onrus suddenly faced the very real threat that it was doomed as a holiday destination unless the beach and lagoon mouth could be reinstated before the December holidays. The OREF reed portfolio management was joined by a retired project manager and together with the help of the community, the municipality and several donors, the team achieved the almost impossible feat of having the beach and lagoon mouth declared open in time for the holiday makers after two months of intensive effort.
* Municipal Coastal Committee (MCC)
Our Vice-Chair, Rob Fryer, continued to give input on behalf of OREF at MCC meetings. There remains a concern regarding the efficacy of these meetings; attendance was generally poor,
report-backs were superficial and little of substance seem to emanate therefrom. OREF will continue to raise the matter with the RMA.
* In conclusion
The year was dominated by the effects of the September 2023 flood; the sediment and debris transported to the estuary transformed its character to a large degree. Normal OREF activities
were turned on their head to deal with the crisis. Credit goes to the OREF members and the many volunteers and donors who dealt with the clean-up operation. In this regard I need to single out Hennie Greef and Adri van der Bank for their crucial contributions. The estuary was happily returned to a safe environment for the holiday makers to enjoy at the end of the year.
* To conclude: my sincere gratitude goes to all the members of OREF for their generous and selfless contributions of time and energy over the past year.
I also wish to thank all the officials representing the different organs of state and agencies on the Forum for their contributions, inputs and cordiality, as, too, to the councillors Resandt and Lerm of the Overstrand Municipality for their interest and support.
Peter van Niekerk,
Chairman: OREF
18 July 2024
