Berg River Project

The Berg River is an important natural resource and affects every person in the Cape Town Metropolis indirectly because food is produced from this resource. The Berg River also supplies a major portion of the water required for domestic purposes in the Cape Metropole.

Presently this vital resource is in a degraded state and poses a major threat to human health, a decline of rural economy (especially the loss of permanent jobs), negatively affect the entire value-adding economy of the Western Cape and further degradation of the environment increasing the risk of losing more precious natural resources during floods.

This project will prevent the risk of the destruction infrastructure such as road and railway bridges, an irrigation dam and several irrigation weirs, caused by a clogged river by removing large alien vegetation. A healthy river system would enhance the economy of the Western Cape by creating more permanent jobs, especially in agriculture and also in new industries, such as agri-tourism created, because of the vast improvement in the quantity and quality of water within the Berg River system.

The improvement of the quality of water can prevent the risk of losing important export markets to the value of billions of rand to the economy. The removal of 1 500ha of alien plants, would save enough water for the planting of at least as many hectares of food crops, thereby contributing to food security in the Western Cape.