With winter on our doorstep and an increase in sea levels expected along the coastlines, the Table View dune project, which is in full swing, is assisting in managing windblown sand in the city.
“Some residents may be curious as to why we have started with the dune project along this stretch. It is because this is the most pragmatic and cost-effective approach to managing windblown sand in the city,” says the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, Eddie Andrews at a site visit last Wednesday.
“Fully functional dune systems create a quality coastal space: they help trap sand on the beachfront, and prevent it from being blown onto roads and adjacent infrastructure.”
Once complete, the vegetated dune cordon in Table View will provide a natural buffer against storm surges and the longer-term projected impacts of sea-level rise and will mitigate the smothering of infrastructure by windblown sand.
“We can already see the impact, although this project is still in its early days,” Andrews says.
Flora rescued
To date, 94 000 plants have been rescued and planted on the new dunes; 162 515 m³ sand has been moved and 23 km of netting installed. Andrews visited the site on Wednesday to monitor the progress of this initiative to rehabilitate, revitalise and maintain the Table View beachfront, one of the city’s prime tourist attractions along the Atlantic coastline.
The work commenced in mid-July 2022 with the City profiling the dunes from Dolphin Beach in the south to Bokkomsbaai in the north.
The project is taking place along a stretch of 3 km of coastline, and apart from rehabilitating the dune system, the City’s Coastal Management branch will also improve pedestrian access to the beach, implement sand management and upgrade various facilities, services and infrastructure.
“We have moved the sand to reinstate the dunes, covering an area of eight hectares; then stabilised the sand with the installation of wind nets, followed by revegetation with suitable dune-specific plant species. The netting is working well to keep the nearby infrastructure free of windblown sand. I have also noted the exceptional self-colonisation of the vegetation over the back dune areas. In March alone, we have planted 20 000 plants on the dune, with another 16 000 to go by the end of June,” he says.
Residents and environmentalists welcomed the upgrade.
“This is long overdue and even though it will take some time to complete, we are happy with the progress,” says resident Greg Manning.
Progress made and expected
- 94 000 plants have been rescued and planted on the dunes;
- 162 515 m³ of sand has been moved;
- 23 km of wind netting has been installed;
- sand accumulating at each location will be pushed back into the sea and the nets reinstalled as needed;
- planting will continue into 2024;
- the vegetation will take several years to fully establish and
- derelict ablution facilities have been demolished and replaced with temporary ablution facilities.
All-in-all, the implementation of the dune rehabilitation will take about 18 to 20 months, thus the work will be ongoing until June 2024.
- a new walkway along the coast;
- parking;
- new ablution facilities and
- the repair of stormwater services.
The work should be completed by mid-2025.
The Coastal Management Branch is also investigating the possibility of converting a portion of the old tourism office building into public ablutions. Should this be a feasible option, it could be undertaken as part of works scheduled to commence in August 2023.
“At Table View Beach visitors have an iconic view of Table Mountain in the distance, it is a favourite kite-surfing spot in summer months, and extremely popular among locals and visitors from all walks of life. All of those visiting Table View Beach, be it locals or tourists, will enjoy the space much more once we are done with the upgrades,” Andrew says.
The beach remains open to the public, but all are advised to avoid the areas where work is taking place, to keep dogs on a lead.
Access to the beach is only available via designated access pathways.
