May Newsletter 2022

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Membership fees

You are encouraged to pay your 2022 annual membership fees of R350 (or any amount more than this would be greatly appreciated). Please do payment electronically as we do not have the facilities to receive cash. We owe Veronique Jones a huge thanks for contacting members / residents and reminding all to pay subscriptions. Please notify us of your membership subscription when making payment. All fees received are put to effective use for maintaining the Village. Reference: Subs.xxStreet.Surname.

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What’s happening?

Please be reminded that you can read the committee minutes of meetings on our website Google Brrag! You can also see the tide table, local weather, and other items there.

New committee members

We are encouraging residents to avail yourself to serve on this pro-active and hardworking committee and to assist with our many projects. Please raise your hand. We are pleased to report that Sue Muirhead and Elvira Ramraj have joined us. Welcome ladies and we hope that you will have a fulfilling time with us.

Our Ward Committee: Elvira and Sue when elected to the Ward 3 committee – third and fourth from the right. Second from the right is councillor Watuse Johannes and on the right, director Maneli.

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Boesmansriviermond Christmas Market is back this year at the Tennis Club

Support our community this year for 3 days of festive Christmas shopping from 16th December to 18th December.

Local is lekker.

Crafters Stall bookings will be available from 1st June on a 1st come basis. Duplication of stalls will be limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Contact Sue via WhatsApp
084 297 6190

Please state your stalls wares (selling items).

We will require the volunteers for pancake making and boerie rolls. Ticket sellers and all the assistance that usually goes with the market.

Support a worthy cause

Lovely books to choose from at Nicolls Supermarket in Boesmansriviermond at only R 20.00 for two!

All proceeds go to SPCA

The amount of R6500.00 was raised in December Bring all your unwanted books and support this very worthy cause.

Kenton sand dune

We have formed an Action Group consisting of BRRAG, KOSRA, Lands Ending, Merryhill, Chamber of Business and others to oppose the plan to push sand towards the River and then cart it through Kenton for disposal. Please read all about it in our previous newsletter that appears on our website. WE REQUIRE FINANCIAL SUPPORT to stop this ugly construction site across the Boesmans River. Please assist. We have appointed MER environmental consultants and DR. Jeremy Ridl as our environmental lawyer.

Thank you to all who have made financial contributions. It placed us in a position to get the ball rolling.

Petition

Please read about and support our petition if you have not done so by now. How? Read all about it on our website and find the link to sign the petition. Click on Info & News and then on Kenton Sand Dune.

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110 club draw end of April – congratulations to all.

NRF (Ndlambe Ratepayers’ Forum)

The NRF is constituted of all the ratepayers’ associations within Ndlambe. We advance communal interests through the Forum.

Please see the latest comments which were submitted to Ndlambe regarding the recent budget of the municipality. Click here.

BRRAG at work

We, at last, found housing for all our equipment. Ndlambe kindly made a storeroom available to us at no cost because “ BRRAG is assisting the Municipality in providing important assistance maintenance services to the community of Boesmansriviermond.” We extend our thanks to Gibbon Schickerling who donated a camera. Hitech donated, installed and will monitor it free of charge. A big clean up and restoration job was undertaken by Robert Schroeder and Jacques de Wit, together with our staff members. Robert made burglar proofing and secured the area well. A donation of some electrical appurtenances was made by Johnny Chowles. Thanks to all the super guys for a super job.

Gugu inspecting his work.

Boardwalk

Thanks are due to Pete Andrews who refurbished the boardwalk for us. It is spic and span and a real pleasure to have members Pete. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

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Riversbend and surrounds

Feedback from the Red Apple and BBGs restaurants after the recent long weekends is very positive.

The artist Arno Carsten’s performance at the Red Apple was highly entertaining and well supported.

The real estate market provides just as much excitement.

No less than 27 properties have been sold in Boesmans and Riversbend since January 2022.

Bushman’s Creek’s Rivers Rest Village development is well underway. A care unit is part of the planning

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Water matters

Background information

Ndlambe is situated in a fresh water scarce area but fortunately the area has access to lots of seawater which can be processed by reverse osmosis to manufacture fresh water.
Reverse osmosis removes salt and other impurities from the seawater, but it is a much more complicated process than simply filtering dam water.
Our ward 3 & 4 are reliant on the Albany Coast R O (ACRO) plant situated in Boesmansriviermond.

The manufacturing process is reliant on a number of critical factors

Constant electricity supply
Supply of clean raw water
A well-maintained water plant
A well-managed water plant
Spare parts and effective procurement process
Compliance with Social and Environmental standards

The ACRO plant has been experiencing challenges over many years.

Due to these challenges the leadership of BRRAG, KOSRA, Chamber of Business and Tourism, Estuary Care and communities of Rivers Bend, Merry Hill, Natures landing, formed a combined representative body, SDSG (Service delivery Support Group) engaged with Ndlambe Municipality in an effort to ensure water availability to the community. Out of these engagements the Service Delivery Support Group (SDSG) was formed which is made up of the four organisations mentioned as well as the ward councillors of Ward 3 & 4.

The SDSG in turn became managing partners in the Water Managing Committee (WMC) with Ndlambe Municipality, DWS and Amatole Water with a strong collaborative agreement with a progressive Terms of Reference (TOR) constitution. From the WMC a Technical Task Team (TTT) was formed to deal with technical issues that could advise the WMC.

The objective is to establish and maintain a collaborative that harnesses the combined strength of its members to enhancing water service delivery. This is of course not without conflicts and disagreements, but it can be a great long lasting positive when it leads to solutions.

Current position

The ACRO Plant is under severe pressure to deliver enough water in a community with rising needs for fresh water.

Managerial and Technical challenges exist of which some are highlighted.

Managerial challenges

Amatola board of directors has been replaced 3 times in 3 years which creates a continuity issue
The current Amatole CEO is the second acting CEO in a year
The procurement processes are not conducive for quick of reaction times found in a crisis.
The plant does not have a management structure to enable required support from
Amatole Water as it is the only reverse osmosis plant under their management.
Current inadequate management to implement new conceptual solutions

Technical challenges

Insufficient raw water needed for the plant that is clean and without biological matter and sand
Sand and algae ingress is blocking the membranes and destroying equipment
Insufficient stock of critical spares to cope with the breakdown of machinery which can only be sourced from overseas with lead time of 3-6 weeks.
No scheduled maintenance implemented.
Constant theft of cables at Diaz well field
Little or no respect for Social and Environmental impacts within the operation.

Actions undertaken by the SDSG and the TTT:

Consultation with Minister of water and sanitation to highlight the affect water shortages has on the local economy in the spheres of business and tourism.
Consultation with newly appointed Chairperson of the Amatola Board to ensure prioritisation of the ACRO Plant and the difficulties being encountered.
Many SDSG meetings with Ndlambe Municipal Manager and Directors, especially over the past weeks, to discuss viable solutions and to provide maximum support
To mitigate risk, SDSG and Ndlambe (as the Water Authority) are investigating the appointment of a second water provider. This is not seen as an immediate solution as it would require an EIA study made after finding a site acceptable to neighbours, the installation of an ESKOM line plus the laying of new pipeline all of which will take a lot of time.
The TTT meet weekly or bi-weekly
Liaison with community leaders
Focus on implementing planned maintenance
Involvement and monitoring sourcing of the critical spares finding a solution to provide clean raw water to the plant free of biological matter and sand
Proposing an appointment of a manager with technical knowledge at the ACRO Plant reporting direct to the Amatola CEO
Continued involvement of the TTT
Addressing the Social and Environmental issues caused by the Amatola Water Plant
Recommending to public to become more self-reliant for water by adding water storage at their homes
Improving communication to the communities as well as provision of emergency water by tanker and water tanks to the community
Repair of pipeline leaks by Ndlambe and Amatola

Future

There is no easy or quick solution to the water challenges that are being experienced.
Involvement in the process by the community organisations and us supporting Ndlambe and Amatole Water are crucial and is vital to finding lasting solutions to the challenges to ensure long term sustainable and responsible water supply.

Snippets

Read all about estuarine pipefish. Click here.