Water treatment works for Paarl Mountain
2006-12-19
THE Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Tasneem Essop, has upheld the Record of Decision granting authorisation for the Drakenstein Municipality to undertake the construction of water treatment works on Paarl Mountain.
The site for the plant with a capacity of 8 megalitres per day will be at Pienaarskamp (near Mill Water gardens), with the drying beds at the disused Blake Street Reservoir Site.
Water from the Nantes and Bethel Dams on Paarl Mountain supplies 8% of the total water requirements of the town of Paarl, but does not currently comply with SABS specifications as some water is also pumped into the dams from the Berg River.
The treatment works will integrate with the existing gravity-fed reticulation and storage system on the mountain.
The infrastructure of some of the building will be five to six metres high with a physical “footprint” of about 650 square metres within a fenced site covering about 2 200 square metres. The buildings will be sunk into the ground and landscaped as far as possible.
The authorisatio will lapse if the activity does not commence within two years.
Drakenstein Municipality may consider upgrading the capacity of the proposed WTW to 15 megalitres in the long term, subject to a feasibility study and additional environmental authorisation process.
A number of appeals against the decision were received from conservation organisations and individuals in Paarl.
Fears were expressed about the visual impact of the building on Paarl Mountain, which is a proclaimed nature reserve and a Provincial Heritage Site.
Objectors were also of the opinion that the treatment works should have been built next to the Berg River near the Boy Louw sportsgrounds (Zanddrift), which was considered as an alternative, less intrusive site, and would be more accessible for construction purposes.
The Jan Phillips Mountain Road will carry more traffic and will have to be regularly graded to accommodate increased heavy traffic to the site during construction.
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