The nature of the Bitter surface sediments in the mouth region suggest that the river flows intermittently but probably only for short periods. This is to be expected from the nature of the rainfall and the small size of the catchment. Sediments originating from the sea tend to build up the sand bar at the mouth of the Bitter, whilst the river would tend to breach it at times of flow, particularly in the winter months. Sea water probably only overtops the sandbar during exceptionally high tides combined with heavy seas and onshore winds.
Reference:
CSIR, Estuarine and Coastal Research Unit. 1981. Bitter (CW6). Report 6 of the Estuaries of the Cape, Part 2: Synopses of available information on individual systems series, edited by Heydorn, AEF and Grindley, JR. Stellenbosch: CSIR. (CSIR research report 405)
Estuarine and Coastal Research Unit, R. (1981). Bitter (CW6) (CSIR Research Report number). CSIR, National Research Institute for Oceanology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3486
Estuarine and Coastal Research Unit, RCRU Bitter (CW6). CSIR Research Report number. CSIR, National Research Institute for Oceanology, 1981. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3486
Estuarine and Coastal Research Unit R. Bitter (CW6). 1981 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3486
