Comment on Cape Town’s Vygekraal River Upgrade Project

Comments are open until 25 July 2025 for the Water and Sanitation Directorate’s Vygekraal River upgrade plans, as part of the Liveable Urban Waterways Programme (LUW). The upgrade will see enhancements of the river system.

The Vygekraal River is part of the Salt River Catchment, and the section to be upgraded flows from Jakes Gerwel Drive through Nantes Park; between Bridgetown, Silvertown and Kewtown, towards the N2. The project also includes a small section of the Blomvlei and Jakkalsvlei Rivers.

Following various community engagements held during 2023 and 2024 as part of the Liveable Urban Waterways (LUW) Programme, the City’s appointed professional service provider is now beginning the Basic Assessment process required under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations.

‘We encourage residents and all interested and affected parties to submit their comments. Once this phase is complete, the City will carefully review all input received on the pre-application Basic Assessment Report (BAR) and make any necessary changes. The formal application process will then begin, and a draft BAR will be made available for further public comment.

‘During this stage, residents will also have the opportunity to see how their previous comments were addressed. After the final commenting period, the documents will be finalised and submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) for a decision. All registered stakeholders will be informed of the outcome,’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.

The aim of the project is to increase the river’s capacity to carry water, reinforce and stabilise its banks, and create a safer, more functional river corridor. This will help protect nearby infrastructure, reduce the risk of flooding, and support local biodiversity. The upgrades are aligned with the City’s broader Liveable Urban Waterway vision to provide both ecological and community benefits.

A water-use application is being considered in terms of Section 21 of the National Water Act for sediment and vegetation management, erosion control and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure.

Register as an interested and affected party and comment on the pre-application Basic Assessment Report (pre-app BAR) until 25 July 2025.

The pre-app BAR will be made available for download on the website of Lukhozi Consulting Engineers (LCE) – www.lukhozi.co.za (to access go to the ‘Documents tab’, scroll down to ‘Public Participation Documents’, and select the ‘Vygekraal LUW’).