PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT OF RIVERSIDE DAM, THE CONSTRUCTION OF RIVERSIDE KOP DAM AND ASSOCIATED PIPELINES AND WEIR DIVERSON INFRASTRUCTURE ON FARM RIVERSIDE NO. 211 AND REMAINDER OF FARM THE OAKS NO. 145, CALEDON, WESTERN CAPE: NOTIFICATION OF INTENTION TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION AND AVAILABILITY OF THE PRE-APPLICATION BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT 

BASIC ASSESSMENT PROCESS (DEA&DP Ref No): 16/3/3/6/7/1/E4/12/1121/18

The applicant, De Kock Sandfontein BK, proposes to enlarge his irrigation scheme on Riverside Farm, which consists of two properties (Farm Nos RE/145 & 211). There are existing non-irrigated wheat fields on both properties which the applicant would like to expand to irrigated deciduous fruit farming (a maximum of 40 ha). The applicant proposes to include the surface water use omitted from the Validation & Verification (V&V) process by the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA).

The proposed project, including associated infrastructure, includes the following:

  • Enlargement of Riverside Dam 4: Enlargement of Riverside Dam (Dam 4), which is an earthfill embankment dam, from 5000 m3 to a 325 000 m3 storage capacity. The water surface area of the dam would increase from approximately 0.2 ha to approximately 7.1 ha and the dam wall height raised to approximately 13 m.
  • Riverside Kop Dam: Construction of a new earthfill embankment Riverside Kop Dam (a balancing dam) with a 45 000 m3 storage capacity and a surface area of approximately 2.3 ha. The wall height would be 4.5 m. This dam would be fed from two sources: (1) by water diverted from the reinstatement of the old diversion weir (refer below) located above Dam 6, which is located on an unnamed tributary of the Sonderend River, and (2) from an existing abstraction point on the Sonderend River, in accordance with the properties’ entitlements from the Zonderendrivier Water User Association schemes.
  • Reinstate the old diversion weir – Dam 6 Weir: It is proposed to reinstate the old diversion weir (2 m high) above Dam 6, 30 m above the existing weir (earth structure). The existing structure shall be removed. The new proposed weir would be constructed from mass concrete.
  • Access roads: A short section of the existing road at the proposed enlarged Dam 4 would be relocated (0.4 km and 3 m wide). An extension of the existing access road to the reinstated Dam 6 Weir (0.7 km long and 3 m wide) would be required.
  • Decommissioning of six existing dams: There are presently seven dams on the properties related to this scheme, and only four of these dams were included in the V&V process. All dams except Dam 4 would be decommissioned as part of this proposal.
  • Sand Borrow Area: The creation of one sand borrow area would be required. Three alternative locations for this have been proposed and assessed in the Basic Assessment Report.

Holland & Associates Environmental Consultants has been appointed by De Kock Sandfontein BKto undertake the requisite Environmental Impact Assessment process for the proposed project (in this case a Basic Assessment Reporting (BAR) process) in accordance with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (No. 107 of 1998), as amended, EIA Regulations (2014).

The Pre-application Basic Assessment report was made available for public comment for a period of 30 days (30 August to 1 October 2018). All comments received from I&Aps during the process have been responded to and collated into a Commments & Responses Report (CRR1) and incorporated into the Draft Basic Assessment Report.

The Draft Basic Assessment Report is made available to the public for review for a 30 day comment period, and is downloadable via the link below. Potential Interested & Affected Parties (I&APs) have 30 days, i.e.  from 13 June 2019 to 15 July 2019, to raise any concerns related to the proposed project and the findings of the Draft Basic Assessment Report.Any comments received from I&APs will be incorporated into a Comments and Response Report (CRR2) and included in the Final Basic Assessment Report that will be submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning for decision making.

Should you have any comments, issues or concerns regarding the proposed project or the findings of the Draft Basic Assessment Report, please provide your comments in writing to Anja Albertyn of Holland & Associates Environmental Consultants, by email, fax or post (Fax: 086 653 1765, email: anja@hollandandassociates.net or post: PO Box 31108, Tokai, 7966), on or before 15 July 2019.