Heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in the valley for the past two weeks, in which one business in Paarl’s industrial area alone lost at least R8 million in damages.
Paarl Post attended a media tour hosted by the Department of Water and Sanitation at the Berg River Dam in Franschhoek to determine whether certain mitigation processes to avoid the severe flooding may have been overlooked.
Sources, especially on Drakenstein’s generational farms, suggest the sluice gates of the dams feeding into the Berg River system should have been opened much sooner.
These sources suggest it would have relieved the rising water levels at an earlier stage to make way for the deluge that followed.
In her opening address, Provincial Head of the Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa stated: “The Provincial Disaster Management Centre cites Western Cape flooding as not being without devastation, as several regions have been affected by the flooding, the worst-affected areas being Breede Valley and some informal settlements in the City of Cape Town.”
This is easily disputed, as hundreds of residents’ homes in the entire Drakenstein Valley were totally flooded, necessitating evacuations.
Not to mention the damage sustained by Paarl’s industrial sector, which saw many factories, parked heavy motor vehicles and office spaces knee-deep in floodwater.
One such business, Paarl Rock Tours, attested to R8 million damage to their tour buses and daily loss of income of R40 000 due to their vehicles being stationed as a result of flood damage.
Answering questions surrounding the timing of sluice releases during the recent floods, Bila-Mupariwa addressed the issue of the Berg River Dam: “In terms of the release, let me start by saying the way the Berg River has been situated it is one of the dams that normally fills up quickly and normally, you would see the speed.
“We have done visibility studies to ensure water security in the province and make sure we don’t lose any drop. Now, one of those visibility studies came up with a project that was to be implemented by the department, which is the BRAVA-project: Berg River, Voëlvlei Augmentation Plan.”
She continued that this project, which most of the water users in the Western Cape are looking forward to, was delayed due to Covid-19. It is assumed this project might contribute to improved monitoring of water levels, however, the significance of this project was vaguely illustrated.
On whether the department had not foreseen to release water earlier on, Bila-Mupariwa assured it was monitoring dam levels and gauging systems, “those that [determine if we] need to release the water or [those indicating if] it is time to close the sluice gates.
“But in terms of our emergency preparedness plan, it clearly tells us when to release and when not to release.
“Sometimes we release the water for environmental purposes. Sometimes we release the water for the farmers who are using the water during summer months. That’s when a lot of release takes place.”
In terms of more downpours predicted, she said the department was engaged in close monitoring of gauging systems and water levels, which is done on a weekly basis.
“This is to ensure water levels give us warning where there are going to be challenges. When that is identified in terms of our emergency preparedness plan, we inform all water users to stay away from the flood plain and inform the municipalities within the jurisdiction, so they can ensure residents are moved from the area where floods are anticipated.”
It was also said one of the reasons contributing to heavy localised flooding, as experienced in Paarl, is due to masses of stormwater that do not dissipate in time to avoid floods.
However, on the important question of whether sluice gates were opened in time before the flood, Pieter Barry of the Department’s Infrastructure Branch explained there was not any sluice opened in the Berg River Dam.
“[The floods] were just normal spills. It is an uncontrolled spillway as the water comes in, it goes over,” he added. “Before the flood this dam was around 80%, maybe less. There was a lot of water that came in . . . that did not spill. That is why if this dam was not here, water that would have filled the dam from 80% to 100%, would have gone down the Berg River. But that was held back.”
He, however, admitted that he could not speak on this matter regarding the Wemmershoek Dam.
