Zandvlei Trust

Buitenverwachting inspection of  the Prinskasteel River
– 04 November 2009.

We all met at the Stone Church off Orpen Drive at 09h30. Chris Botes knows the area well and agreed to part lead the way. Peter Reynolds arrived to give a brief back ground of what we were going to inspect.

The concern is the amount of silt and soil landing up in Soetvlei during storms. This is a complex issue as the rainfall runoff and ground water flow starts on TMNP land, enters Buitenverwatching land. Some of the water exits onto PWD (Province land which is under a 99 year lease) then the flow continues downhill onto Uitsig land and then onto City of Cape Town land, before it crosses Orpen Road. The culverts are heavily silted up and do not allow the water to flow under the road in peak flows. The City land has a plantation of poplars which are in the Prinskasteel River course on the western side of Orpen Drive.

Starting off along the road next to the wheat field on the southern border of Uitsig Wine Estate we walked up the sand road, along side the stone lined canal.

Those participating were Martin Thompson, Suretha Dorse, Nicole Andrews from the City, Chris Botes from SANP, Peter Reynolds (Manager Buitenverwachting Wine Estate), Tony Rebelo (SANBI),  John Green (WESSA and Friends of Tokai), Liz Brunette, Frenske Otzen (Constantia Hills Residents Association),
Dennis Davies (Friends of Die Oog) and Cherry Giljam, Gavin Lawson (Zandvlei Trust).

Discussing the areas being washed away.             Chris Botes explaining the route we will follow.

Peter explaining to Martin where we will start.          Chris brought some copies of photos taken of damage
                                                                           caused by the water runoff in August 2009.
                                                                           See photos.

Looking over the wheat field at Uitsig Estate.          A road which has been rebuilt with a drainage ditch.

This part of the road has been rebuilt, the Range    Looking back down the road, the drainage canal is on
Restaurant on the left.                                           the right. It can not cope with the runoof in peak times.

For some reason the vines have not been planted    The ditch is on the left.
with the contour of the land.

The Range Restaurant.                                                  Crystal clear water is running in the canal next to
                                                                                   the restaurant.

Further up the road we stopped next to a pipe                   The pipe under the road flows into the ditch.
which carries water from a slope oin the vineyards.

The pipe on the other side of the road.                     More soil is being brought to repair the road.

This is a stone lined canal which takes runoff           Large tracts of exotic invassive vegetation on the PWD
into a dam on the PWD land. It has not been           land next door.
maintained.

One of a series of small dams with plenty of exotic    A section of the road washed away where water flowed
vegetation on its banks.                                          out of the canal.

The Vodacom cell station in the trees on the PWD land.        The mast in amoungst the trees.

At the end of the tree lined section.                         Cherry pointing out the 5 year old section of TMNP land
                                                                            where the fynbos has regrown.

At the same point looking across the farmland,        The soil is different here and could be part of a
the compost heaps in the middle right of pic.            wetland.

Tony and Martin discussing the erosion.                   The soils in this area appear to be part of a wetland.

This area in the TMNP boundary is a wetland and     The farm dam with a wetland area down the slope to
to solve part of the problem this wetland should be    the right.
incorporated onto the estate land to trap and filter
the water.

An area where the wetland could be incorporated.      Typha and brachens on the second tier of slope on the
                                                                             TMNP land indicating the wetland.

Martin and Suretha inspecting some wash away.       Martin gave Peter a number of suggestions on how he
                                                                            could go about solving the issue.