Overstrand Municipality together with Marine Dynamics and
the Dyer Island Conservation Trust are implementing drains at storm water pipes
in order to minimise waste from reaching the ocean. Inspired by a project in
Australia, Wilfred Chivell of Marine Dynamics Tours and founder of the Dyer
Island Conservation Trust, realised the need for a net system over the storm
water drain outlets in Gansbaai. The first identified site was Gansbaai
Harbour, an area notorious for pollution originating from a central point in
town, and so Project Storm was started in 2019. The project has been successful
and carries an education component with the Overstrand Municipality placing
education signs at all drains that reads “Don’t Litter. The Sea Starts Here.”
On Saturday 5 June a storm water net was installed in Hawston
in order to minimise waste reaching the Paddavlei Wetlands, a fragile wetland
that is being impacted by pollution and reed overgrowth.
Officials of Overstrand Municipality’s Environmental Management
Department, Pierre de Villiers of CapeNature, Brenda Walters of Marine Dynamics
and Dyer Island Conservation Trust and Sheraine van Wyk of Whale Coast
Conservation gathered at the Paddavlei on World Environmental Day (Saturday 5
June) to launch Project Storm. They were joined by members of the Paddavlei Eco
Group (PEG) and the TS Birkenhead Hawston Cadet Group.
Liezl de Villiers, Senior Manager of the Environmental
Management Department, related that World Environmental Day was first
celebrated in 1972. She highlighted the importance of preserving natural
resources for future generations and explained that the storm water net’s
purpose is to prevent plastic from ending up in the wetlands and ocean where it
can harm animal life.
The project requires time, energy, and funding. We were
negatively affected in 2020 but we can now pick this project up again and are committed
to its growth. The municipality will play a main role in the clearing of these
nets as part of waste management. We will also make some funding available for
this project,” she stated.
Walters commended Overstrand Municipality for its support of
Project Storm, stating that their support is key to ensuring the success of the
project. She pointed out that although the storm water net is a brilliant
invention more should be done to stop pollution, adding: “The solution is no
pollution.”
This was reiterated by Sheraine van Wyk who told the
children that it would be best to start educating those around them about the
negative impact of pollution and to urge them not to litter.
Pierre De Villiers of CapeNature commended the members of
PEG for their passion and dedication to improve the condition of the Paddavlei
Wetlands and gave a brief overview of plans to achieve this. He stated that minimising
waste reaching the water system, as well as the planned reed removal, will
bring much needed balance to this ecosystem.
Afterwards, the group assisted the Cadets in spray-painting
the educational stencils with messages like “The sea starts here”, “Defend our
wetlands” and “No Dumping” at various stormwater drains in the area.
The Kleinmond Conservation Group has also offered extra
hands and is looking at some of their problematic storm drains and hope to soon
have a couple of nets up in their area.
Chivell had this to say about Project Storm: “We hope that
through this project we can minimise the impact on our wildlife by reducing the
amount of waste entering the marine system, as well as use the statistics to
educate the public of the impact poorly discarded trash has on the ecosystem. I
am also so glad that we have the incredible support of the Overstrand Municipality
to jointly work on such projects. The storm net project has created much
interest across South Africa and will be the focus of a marine pollution
roadshow from Cape Town to Durban in August that the Dyer Island Conservation
Trust will be doing with Plastics SA. Interested companies can sponsor the
manufacture of a net for an estimated R5 000 and can get in touch with the Dyer
Island Conservation Trust to do so. The storm nets will be mapped on the DICT
website so each company will be acknowledged for their contribution in this
way. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust in Gansbaai is grateful to have
recently received a grant through the National Lotteries Commission, a portion
of which is allocated to two storm nets, that includes the one placed in Hawston.”
