Cape Town wetland policy to affect property market

The City of Cape Town has introduced a new flood plain and river management policy, which is well intentioned but likely to give rise to several problems, says Paul Henry, the managing director of Rawson Developers.

"The long-term effect of the new rulings will be to reduce the value of any property that can be developed close to a wetland or river system, for the simple reason that the owner can't now be sure that the original zoning status of the land - such as for a high-density project - will be honoured. All property owners, but especially those who had hoped to capitalise on their site's proximity to a wetland, are bound to challenge the law if it results in their projects being reduced in bulk or held back.

"I get the impression that these new rulings have been pushed through without much consultation with the ratepayers and/or developers who have been, or might be, involved with developments close to water systems," says Henry.

The laudable aims of the new policy, says Henry, are:

# To reduce the risk of buildings being exposed to flood areas;

# To protect and enhance the watercourses and wetlands' ability to act as drainage systems;

# To enhance the appeal and value of these areas;

# To facilitate their integration in an aesthetically pleasing and socially uplifting way with the urban landscape; and

# To introduce an element of standardisation in the approval and/or modification processes that are applied to development near ecologically sensitive areas.

Henry says many of South Africa's river systems are choked by invader species such as water hyacinth and typha (the common bulrush) and the proliferation of these has been boosted by nutrient run-off from artificially fertilised agricultural holdings.

Pollution is noticeable in most rivers - the Jukskei in Gauteng and Umsinduzi in KwaZulu-Natal being among the worst affected.

"In the Cape, the Kuils River, draining into False Bay, the Disa River running into Hout Bay and the Diep River draining into Zeekoevlei, are... carriers of disease.

"Often, raw effluent is found in rivers which, it was thought, were protected by supposedly sophisticated, but now overloaded, sewerage schemes nearby."

Henry says that in one area he is especially familiar with, the Diep River estuary (of which the Milnerton Lagoon forms part), canoeists are wary of taking to the water in summer because faecal pollution is so prevalent.

"This can cause a range of infections and is particularly dangerous if swallowed, as does happen with children playing in the beach area.

"It is now accepted that the choking of Diep River has gone so far that the river would be totally stagnant in summer if it were not for the inflow of waste-water effluent."

Henry says the City should introduce plans for appropriate wetland-associated developments and set about cleaning up the rivers at once.

"This is a perfect opportunity to create useful employment for those out of work.

"In many areas, such as the suburbs of D'urbanvale in Durbanville, volunteers do valuable work cleaning up wetlands under the guidance of a nature conservation office, but this type of work should be in the hands of full-time employees trained by the local authorities."

Henry says an education programme should be put in place to teach people about the importance of rivers and wetlands and to ensure that pollutants are kept out of the rivers.

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