For the past 20 years management of the Bot/Kleinmond estuarine system in the south-western Cape has been based on the premise that, barring intervention, the estuary was naturally evolving into a freshwater coastal lake. This paper presents evidence, based on a 20-year series of water-level data, updated runoff estimates from the catchments and dimensional data, that, in the absence of anthropogenic influences, the system is not progressing naturally, but artificially, towards becoming a freshwater system. It is concluded that the increasingly closed state of the Bot Estuary in recent years is most likely due to reduction in runoff from its tributaries and premature artificial breaching of the Kleinmond arm of the system. These findings, coupled with the high conservation importance of the Both River Estuary, suggest that the current management plan needs urgent revaluation and that the two estuaries cannot be managed separately.
Reference:
Van Niekerk, L, Van der Merwe, JH and Huizinga, P. 2005. Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited. Water SA, vol. 31(1), pp 73-85
Van Niekerk, L., Van der Merwe, J., & Huizinga, P. (2005). Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922
Van Niekerk, Lara, JH Van der Merwe, and P Huizinga "Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited." (2005) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922
Van Niekerk L, Van der Merwe J, Huizinga P. Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited. 2005; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922.
Author:Wiseman, KA; Burns, MER; Vernon, CJDate:Mar 1993This report is a synthesis of the recent research findings and available knowledge pertaining to the Nahoon, Qinira and qunube estuarine systems in the East London area. It provides the different groups and individuals involved with the ...Read more
Author:Duvenage, IR; Morant, PDDate:Oct 1984In this report available historical information on the Keurbooms/Bitou and Piesang Estuaries is presented. It entails information on marine ecology, river catchment, abiotics and biotics characteristics found in the estuaries. The Keurbooms, ...Read more
Author:Burns, MER; Du Plessis, MA; Verwoerd, DJDate:Feb 1988The Quko Estuary is referred to locally as Double Mouth, after the confluence of the two rivers which takes place to the mouth. The name is somewhat misleading, as it could imply that the Quko River enters the sea at two places which is not ...Read more