Protecting the PHA ecosystem from sand mining

The Water Tribunal says the Philippi Horticultural Area wetland ecosystem is irreplaceable and rejects Consol Glass/Keysource Minerals Water Use Licence to mine silica sand…for a second time.

This is another important milestone in the on-going struggle to protect the PHA foodland, the Cape Flats Aquifer in its soil both crucial for the city’s climate resilience.

On 14 September 2023, Consol Glass/Keysource Minerals, a glass and mining company, filed an appeal with the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Water Tribunal.

This is the second time the licence was refused. In November 2019 the Water Tribunal rejected the first Consol Glass Integrated Water Use Licence Application. Consol withdrew its appeal and commenced work on a new application with new Environmental Assessment Practitioner Umvoto Africa.

In a clear conflict of interest Umvoto Africa is also employed by the City of Cape town to manage and protect the Managed Aquifer Recharge program in the Philippi Horticultural Area - the city’s water supply.

The Water Tribunal ruling highlights the symbiotic and interdependent relationship of the PHA farmland and the Cape Flats Aquifer. The farmland needs the aquifer because it allows for drought-proof farming that sustain the city’s food supply.

The aquifer needs the farmland because the farm landscape, farm sloots, seasonal wetlands and sand dunes are the natural recharge green infrastructure that sustain the well-being of the aquifer. Previous rulings against developments by Heritage Western Cape, CCT appeals committees, and a 2020 High Court ruling echo the Water Tribunal rulings.

A Water Use Licence (WUL) is part of the mining application process in which specifically the impact of the mining activity on water resources is assessed. The mining operation intends to dredge a 20m deep hole in the land that will forever destroy the land, food production and ecosystem.

The Water Tribunal 15 August ruling mirrors much of the concerns of its first ruling in November 2019 ruling, but also points out omissions and withholding key information (see paragraph 62 of the appeal for the Tribunal’s reasons for refusal).

Of the twelve reasons for its ruling, 4 are notable:

• The 55ha wetland hectarage that is to be lost due to the proposed mining activity cannot be re-created as an offset, so that the ecosystem services can be maintained. To be precise: the wetlands are irreplaceable.
• This application will destroy 55ha of wetlands, these four wetlands recharge the aquifer in winter months- the symbiotic relationship of the land and the aquifer.
• The proposed mining area is part of a 1km square area with reported sighting of 98 bird species with the predominance of flamingos and other water birds. This area is connected to Zeekoevlei (a RAMSAR wetland site), Rondevlei and the greater False Bay conservation area. The Cape Flats Aquifer is an integrated water system in the soil without ward boundaries, walls and fences and so what happens in one part of the system impacts on the other.
• The Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) campaign as an I&AP did not support this mining activity as such activities will have a significant impact on the PHA environment and heritage, the Cape Flats Aquifer, the surrounding community and especially the food and water security of the greater CCT.

Consol Glass bought 55ha in the Philippi Horticultural Area for the purpose of silica sand mining with the threat of prospecting rights of a further 200ha. The City of Cape Town approved a rezone to allow for mining without any public participation. The Western Cape Government MEC for the Environment Anton Bredell approved the Environmental Impact Assessment despite numerous objections and appeals.

In light of yet another ruling that point to the value of the PHA and the Cape Flats Aquifer in its soil, the PHA Food & Farming Campaign and its supporting civil society organisations, call on:

• Cape Town Mayor Gordon-Hill Lewis to enact the Environmental Management Overlay (EMO) to protect the PHA foodland as the city’s food and water supply.
• MEC Anton Bredell to declare the whole of the PHA an aquifer recharge zone of socio-economic importance and resist approving urban developments in the PHA.
• Umvoto Africa to withdraw its support for the Consol/Keysource Minerals appeal and maintain its integrity in service of the PHA and the CFA.