Brief Review of the MCWAP Phase 2A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (September 2018), and Baseline Aquatic and Wetland Impact Specialist Reports

The Freshwater Research Centre (FRC) reviewed the MCWAP Phase 2A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (DEIR) and found it inadequate in its assessment of operational phase impacts on rivers and wetlands. Key criticisms include the failure to account for cumulative climate change risks, the lack of consultation with neighbouring states in the Limpopo River Basin, and the use of a risk matrix that does not assess the significance of impacts as required by NEMA. The FRC highlights significant risks regarding the transfer of poor-quality water and invasive species, such as Water Hyacinth, from the donor Crocodile (West) River and Hartbeespoort Dam to the recipient Matlabas and Mokolo River catchments.

• The MCWAP2A DEIR fails to comprehensively analyze the ecological and socio-economic risks of the inter-basin water transfer, particularly regarding the Mokolo River and Limpopo River catchments, and neglects the need to consult neighbouring states in a shared watercourse.
• The project assessment does not account for cumulative impacts related to climate change, which may exacerbate threats such as infrastructure development, water abstraction, and invasive species, and hinder the movement of flora and fauna through the construction of weirs.
• The use of the Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) Risk Matrix approach is deemed insufficient for a project of this scale because it does not assess the significance of impacts as required by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).
• There is a high risk of transferring poor water quality and invasive biota from the donor catchment to the recipient catchments; the Hartbeespoort Dam is described as hypertrophic with frequent blooms of algae and Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes).
• The operational phase assessment for rivers is inadequate, specifically regarding the impacts of water abstraction from the Crocodile (West) River, the lack of a River Maintenance Management Plan (RMMP), and the effects of valve scouring in the ephemeral Matlabas River.
• The baseline field assessments for rivers and wetlands were conducted only during a single low-flow season, failing to capture seasonal variations or high-flow characteristics, and omitted the analysis of nutrients in river water samples.
• The Wetland Impact Assessment is criticized for contradicting itself regarding the inundation of habitat above the Vlieépoort Weir and for failing to provide information on the biota that inhabit or depend on the identified wetlands.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). Brief Review of the MCWAP Phase 2A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (September 2018), and Baseline Aquatic and Wetland Impact Specialist Reports. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Annexure-D-Aquatics-assessment-on-rivers-and-wetlands.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Brief Review of the MCWAP Phase 2A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (September 2018), and Baseline Aquatic and Wetland Impact Specialist Reports. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Annexure-D-Aquatics-assessment-on-rivers-and-wetlands.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Brief Review of the MCWAP Phase 2A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (September 2018), and Baseline Aquatic and Wetland Impact Specialist Reports |date=25 October 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Annexure-D-Aquatics-assessment-on-rivers-and-wetlands.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrights2018brief, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Brief Review of the MCWAP Phase 2A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (September 2018), and Baseline Aquatic and Wetland Impact Specialist Reports}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Annexure-D-Aquatics-assessment-on-rivers-and-wetlands.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }