The only game in town: when estuary meets ocean

Writer Elaine Davie

The news ran like wildfire through the town: “No… really?” “Yes… after four years – to the day! Imagine!” And the people came in droves – mothers, fathers, children, dogs, cats, pet snakes, all making their way in haste to the Kleinmond lagoon to see it break through to the ocean. There was an air of anticipation, of mass celebration in the air. Children, unbelievably, rushed from the icy air into the icier water (“Children just don’t seem to feel the cold, do they?”). It seemed like the end of a long, hard drought.

And, in a way, it was. According to Pierre de Villiers, CapeNature’s Co-ordinator of the Western Cape Estuaries Programme, the opening of the mouth depends on fresh water inflow, which, in turn depends on rainfall. The mouth has not opened during the last four years due to the drought that the Western Cape experienced over this period. Under normal circumstances, it would open more frequently, he says.

Locals gathered in amazement to witness the breaching of the Kleinmond estuary last week, for the first time in four years.

Trisa Hugo

Interestingly, the other, larger mouth of the Bot River estuary, at Meer-en-See, does not open naturally. “It needs to be opened by grader from time to time and this forms part of the mouth and estuary management plan. Legally-binding documents need to be approved before this can take place and these provide guidelines for the management of the system,” he adds.

Certain adverse circumstances militate against artificially opening either this mouth, or more specifically, the Kleinmond mouth during periods when this does not occur naturally. “Opening the mouth results in large volumes of water rushing out of the estuary,” Pierre explains. “This scours out sand and mud which is taken out to sea, providing an important source of sand and nutrients for the ocean and its species.

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