Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency Catchment Management Strategy

The Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency has published the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency Catchment Management Strategy for comment. "This Catchment Management Strategy (CMS) has been developed taking into consideration the previous draft CMS for the then Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA), the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA) Annual Performance Plan and all other relevant studies that were used to inform the situation assessment and sub-strategies relating to reconciliation, water resource protection, water use regulation, monitoring and information management, financial aspects and importantly stakeholder engagement.

The Breede-Gouritz Water Management Area (BGWMA) falls into the category of being water stressed. The need for a Catchment Management Strategy to guide the management of water resources in the WMA, is therefore critical.

In the BGWMA it is recognised that population growth is likely to continue in the major centres and less so in the smaller rural areas. This will generate a growing demand for water services, both natural and built. However, economic growth is likely to be highly constrained in the short term, with little new investment in infrastructure, public or private. With a growing demand and little growth in the economy, government budgets will be constrained. The implication of this for water, is that there is a strong alignment between water supply areas and water demand, which reflects the past history of a farming economy where settlement occurred in farming areas with abundant water. However, as the urban population grows, particularly in the Garden Route and the Overberg region, demand is starting to exceed supply and water shortages are becoming increasingly common, with Hermanus and Knysna being cases in point. Similarly, Cape Town’s demand exceeds local geographical supply, and inter-catchment transfers are necessary from the Breede catchment to meet this demand.

The development of a CMS is therefore an essential element in trying to put into place strategies that will assist in meeting the challenge of safeguarding the water resources in the BGWMA while allowing for growth. The strategy sets out some actions that can be taken in the short term, while further studies will need to be undertaken for other aspects."