Cape Town: Assembling of Zeekoevlei dredger is under way. The Spatial Planning and Environment Directorate of the City of Cape Town is pleased to announce that the components of the floating suction dredger have arrived at Zeekoevlei in the False Bay Nature Reserve over the weekend.
The project team is now busy in assembling the machine and if all goes as planned, the dredger should take to the water at the end of the week for testing.
Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews said that he is pleased to say that all is on track for the dredging of Zeekoevlei to commence by mid-June 2025. The components arrived over the weekend, and this in itself was quite an operation.
In coming days, the dredger will be assembled and once ready, they will be tested on vlei. Andrews further added that they are celebrating some huge milestones with the project, as last time the city dredged a vlei was 42 years ago in 2983, when parts of Home Bay were dredged.
As per Andrews, this will be then for the first time ever the city will be using a floating suction dredger to dredge organic rich sediment from the vlei bed. Normally, the dredging is done by crane from the water’s edge, but given that the two sections to be dredged are located far from the edge, as the city will be using a floating pontoon instead.
“I am proud that the city is taking the lead when it comes to pushing the boundaries and that the officials are bold to try something here, at Zeekoevlei, that has not been done before,” said Eddie Andrews.
Zeekoevlei is located in the False Bay Nature Reserve, a Ramsar site of international importance for wetlands. The City of Cape Town is also accredited as a Ramsar City. Improving water quality is a key international commitment which is aligned to the Mayoral Priority Programme (MPP): Sanitation and Inland Water Quality MPP.
Over the past decades, there has been a significant build-up of sediment and nutrient rich organics in the Zeekoevlei lakebed that has resulted in algal blooms, which has been impacting the overall health of the vlei and its water quality for recreational users.
Alderman Eddie Andrews further added that improving the water quality at Zeekoevlei is a priority. The dredging will assist in removing pollutants and improving the overall health of the ecosystem. The intention behind building this is to dredge and remove as much of the nutrient rich sediment as possible over a period of 26 months.
Moreover, the Storm Bay will be dredged first and thereafter the contractor will move to the section known as Home Bay. The city will then let the public know once the actual dredging has commenced and how this will impact the recreational activities at and on the vlei.
Meanwhile, the team apologise for the inconvenience and possible disturbance to birders making use of the Strandfontein Birding section while this project is progresses with the work.
The areas where the dredger will be operated will be marked clearly, and the floating slurry pipeline will be sunk below the surface of the vlei once the dredger is operating. Also, the Rondvlei section of the reserve will remain open throughout the project, as well as the Strandfontein section.