Estuarine Management Plan for the Diep River Estuary

The Diep River Estuary in Cape Town, South Africa, is an urban estuary affected by high levels of pollution and other human impacts. It includes the Milnerton Lagoon and Rietvlei, historically both important recreational waterbodies, and is one of the most important estuaries on South Africa’s west coast.

Infinity Environmental was appointed by the City of Cape Town in 2021 to prepare a new Estuarine Management Plan for the estuary, complying with the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act.

To address the complex challenges and explore potential management responses, we convened an expert workshop in 2021 bringing together specialists in water quality, estuarine management, marine ecology, sediment chemistry, and urban water management.

The new EMP was prepared by Infinity based on these expert inputs, and was approved by the provincial Minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in March 2023.

Subsequent work by Infinity Environmental in this system included the preparation of water quality remediation plans for the Rietvlei / Flamingovlei system in 2022, as well as the Milnerton Lagoon in 2023.