New forum to tackle pollution in the Salt River catchment

Reducing pollution and flooding across key parts of the Salt River catchment including, Maitland, Pinelands, Athlone, Mowbray, Observatory, Thornton and Paarden Eiland will be high on the agenda for the new Lower Salt River Catchment Management Forum (LSR-CMF) launched late last month.

- KAYLYNNE BANTOM

The current LSR-CMF was launched on Tuesday 13 May and is the seventh catchment management forum operating within the city.

The inaugural meeting saw robust participation from residents and other stakeholders.

This saw the election of the forum's executive committee.

Roland Postma was elected as chair and Jessleena Suri as his deputy, both of whom are members of the Friends of the Liesbeek.

The aim of the Friends of the Liesbeek is to create an awareness on the importance of the Liesbeek as a green corridor in an urban setting.

The Salt River catchment is one of the city's three largest catchments, covering an area of 214km². It includes several rivers and tributaries, from the Liesbeek to the Vygekraal.

The quality of these watercourses is influenced by residential development, treated effluent discharges, stormwater drains and canalised sections.

Due to the size and complexity of the catchment, the City's Catchment, Stormwater and River Management Branch divided the catchment into three smaller sub-catchments, which consists of the Lower Salt River catchment, Jakkelsvlei catchment and Vygekraal catchment forum areas.

Postma said the forum's aim will be on reducing solid waste, sewage overflows, and illegal dumping, especially in areas like Paarden Eiland and Maitland.

"At the same time, we're supporting nature-based flood resilience through projects like the Liesbeek SUDS pilot and wetland rehabilitation project, aligned with the City's Liveable Urban Waterways programme and their Green Infrastructure Programme from Spatial Planning and Environment."