Cape floods devastate wetlands

The recent floods in the southern Cape have once again highlighted the importance of good functioning wetlands in controlling floodwaters. But the floods caused some damage in the Goukou and Duiwenhoks wetlands and previous damage caused by farming activities were exacerbated.

People from Working for Wetlands, Cape Nature and Landcare have been assessing the damage.
Repair work will start early next year.

The Goukou and Duiwenhoks wetlands are also important water sources for the Hessequa region. Very few are aware that these systems prevented the more than 500mm of rain that fell in November from flooding the low-lying towns of Riversdal and Heidelberg.

“It slows down the water significantly and at the same time, it spreads it out over a larger area, so it protects the low-lying areas…” says Jenifer Gouza, of Working for Wetlands.

The wetland rehabilitation projects will employ 40 people from the area. “Hopefully some skills transfer will also come out of this. Ten percent of the actual working time will be allocated to training programmes,” says Rhett Hiseman, of Cape Nature.

The rehabilitation project will be in place for the next three years.