Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Strategy

The Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Strategy outlines a comprehensive plan to manage water resources through the Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA). Key priorities include redressing social inequities by allocating 15% of agricultural water to emerging farmers by 2015, improving water use compliance, and building resilience against climate change. The strategy details various augmentation options, from dam expansions to desalination, and emphasizes the need for institutional stability, stakeholder engagement, and improved hydrological monitoring, particularly in the Overberg region.

• The strategy sets a specific target for Water Allocation Reform (WAR), aiming to allocate 15% of agricultural water use to emerging farmers by 2015.
• Current estimates suggest that only 2% to 5% of agricultural water use in the WMA is already held by Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs).
• Water supply can be augmented by reducing the assurance of supply for agricultural users at Brandvlei Dam; dropping assurance from 95% to 85% (1 in 7 years) could make 20 million m3 of water available.
• Groundwater is a critical resource with a registered abstraction volume of 146 million m3/a, but several catchments in the Breede are already over-allocated, and the safe yield of the Hex River Valley has been exceeded, leading to brackish water intrusion.
• Desalination of seawater is considered a possible augmentation option for coastal towns, though it is currently expensive, costing above R3/m3 due to high energy requirements.
• Climate change is expected to make the Breede-Overberg WMA warmer and drier over the next 30 years, with coastal areas likely becoming drier and extreme events like floods and droughts becoming more frequent.
• There is a significant gap in hydrological monitoring, particularly in the Overberg region and the upper reaches of the Breede and Riviersonderend rivers, where gauges are insufficient or require refurbishment.
• Water use compliance is a major challenge, with estimates of unlawful water use between 5% and 10% of total use, and concerns regarding nutrient loads from non-compliant municipal wastewater treatment plants.
• The transformation of irrigation boards into Water User Associations (WUAs) is incomplete; of 61 irrigation boards, 30 have transformed into 18 WUAs, leaving 30 yet to transform.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Strategy. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Sector-files/water/Department-of-Water-and-Sanitation-DWS/BGCMA-Breede-Overberg-catchment-management-strategy-part-3-of-3-2012.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Strategy. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Sector-files/water/Department-of-Water-and-Sanitation-DWS/BGCMA-Breede-Overberg-catchment-management-strategy-part-3-of-3-2012.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Strategy |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Sector-files/water/Department-of-Water-and-Sanitation-DWS/BGCMA-Breede-Overberg-catchment-management-strategy-part-3-of-3-2012.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendbreedeoverberg, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Breede-Overberg Catchment Management Strategy}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Sector-files/water/Department-of-Water-and-Sanitation-DWS/BGCMA-Breede-Overberg-catchment-management-strategy-part-3-of-3-2012.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }