Page 39 - KBHA BULLETIN 2

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Further east we strike more serious pollution, the stormwater form Mitchell’s Plain and

Khayelitsha being sometimes heavily polluted with human and animal faeces, heavy metals
and plastic material. The stormwater running from the drains down to the sea certainly

presents a health hazard and the metals may be a threat to the fauna. A matter of concern is

that all the pollution entering the sea becomes trapped in the surf zone and tends to be carried
east by the predominantly clockwise currents. It eventually reaches Gordon’s Bay, where

there appears to be a dead spot in which the polluted water accumulates.

Warning bells may be heard. But of course there is another side to the story. Public attitudes
have changed radically since Gilchrist’s day. While at the turn of the century the key word

was exploitation of resources, the informed public is now much more concerned with

conservation and protection of the environment. Even politicians have now heard of these
concepts and concerned members of the public have formed conservation societies which can

bring pressure to bear on the authorities. Marine reserves have been established around the

coast, including False Bay, and there are at present moves afoot to declare the whole of the
Peninsula and its coastline a conservation area.

So all is not lost and we can all aid the process of the conservation of False Bay by keeping

up the pressure and by converting others to the cause.

References

Proceedings of Symposium on False Bay held at the University of Cape Town on September
25, 1968. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 29, part 2.

Jackson, W. P. U. 1991. False Bay, an Environmental Assessment. Transactions of the Royal

Society of South Africa 47, parts 4 & 5.