Van Niekerk, LaraVan der Merwe, JHHuizinga, P2007-03-142007-06-072007-03-142007-06-072005-01Van Niekerk, L, Van der Merwe, JH and Huizinga, P. 2005. Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited. Water SA, vol. 31(1), pp 73-850378-4738http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922For 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.719566 bytesapplication/pdfenCopyright: 2005 Water Research CommissionBot river estuaryEstuary dimensionsEstuary habitEstuary water levelsEstuary managementArticleVan Niekerk, L., Van der Merwe, J., & Huizinga, P. (2005). Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922Van Niekerk, Lara, JH Van der Merwe, and P Huizinga "Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited." (2005) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922Van Niekerk L, Van der Merwe J, Huizinga P. Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited. 2005; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922.TY - Article AU - Van Niekerk, Lara AU - Van der Merwe, JH AU - Huizinga, P AB - 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. DA - 2005-01 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Bot river estuary KW - Estuary dimensions KW - Estuary habit KW - Estuary water levels KW - Estuary management LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2005 SM - 0378-4738 T1 - Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited TI - Hydrodynamics of the Bot river estuary revisited UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1922 ER -