Author: Chantel Edwards

George and surrounds have once again experienced a bumper festive season showing a distinct increase in accommodation bookings, restaurant and activity visits, shopping, traffic, and more. One local activity reported as many as 6 200 visitors on one day, while a local restaurant accommodated 1 000 covers in one day.

Executive Mayor for George, Leon Van Wyk noted that informal discussions held with restaurants and local business indicate a bumper season with at least a 30% increase in turnover. “By all accounts, George has experienced a very busy holiday season with some businesses recording new turnover and attendance records and improvements returning to and exceeding pre-Covid levels. These achievements should assist in stabilising employment levels as we continue to focus on growing our tourism sector and adding events to extend the offering well beyond the traditional summer season.”

Events including the George Tens held over four days from 15 December, theatre productions, markets, and concerts right up to the new year were well attended. Our  tourism offices recorded 398 enquiries received at the George and Wilderness Tourism offices during December 2022.  Although this is less than those received last year, considering the increased accommodation occupancies, this indicates that accommodation and activity planning was done well in advance for 2022, and not at the last minute, as was experienced last season.  This returns us to more normal trends.  The tourism section distributed QR codes to establishments to enable speedy digital access to information for visitors to the area.  This was also advertised on all social media platforms and through the local print media.

69% of enquiries were related to Things to do and general tourism information, 20% were accommodation related and 11% were general enquiries, not particularly related to tourism, but looking for estate agents, etc.  Occupancy figures in Quarter 4 2022 (Oct, Nov) increased by 24% from Quarter 4 2021 (Oct, Nov). Preliminary feedback is that the private sector has experienced a bumper festive season, with many establishments still being too busy to share their stats with our office.  Accommodation establishments remain quite busy, and it is likely that the season will be extended considerably with international visitors returning to our area over the next few months.

PAVEMENT PERMITS
In a bid to boost the local economy, the Municipality repeated last year’s initiative  of a ‘pavement permit’ to assist restaurants in terms of capacity constraints with the implementation of social distancing measures due to COVID-19. The ‘pavement permit’ would provide restaurants with additional floor space to place their tables. The initiative was very well-received by local businesses although no applications were received.

SAFE SEASON
The multi-stakeholder Festive Season Monitoring Committee met daily from the 1 December and held its final meeting on 9 January 2023. A debriefing will be held to review and begin planning for the 2023 Festive Season.

The daily committee meeting was attended by municipal as well as external stakeholders such as NSRI, SAPS, SANParks and others. The purpose of the daily meeting is to assess available resources, identify possible risks  and to put in place actions plans to address these risks so as not to impact on our holidaymakers. The municipality’s goal is to ensure consistent service delivery during this busy period and to keep George running as efficiently as possible.

A new safety initiative launched was the use of QR codes (widely publicized) that provided public with quick and easy access to websites containing information on tourist activities and events, important municipal contact details as well as water and other safety tips for our visitors.

Links to relevant sites:
https://www.george.gov.za/planning-development/local-economic-development/tourism/safety-for-visitors/
https://www.george.gov.za/contact/
http://www.visitgeorge.co.za/

Positive feedback has been received from residents, businesses and visitors on the season management:

“I am hugely grateful to the George Municipality, Law Enforcement, traffic officials, monitors, NSRI security companies and SANParks for the enormous difference they made in our village this past season. One felt safe, looked after and protected on so many levels during what can only be described as a bumper season. Our village was swamped with visitors and I believe that we showed how things can be done.”

”Our children have been visiting from Cape Town, and have been so impressed by the beach monitors, helpful traffic cops and general cleanliness.”

“Please convey our compliments to George Municipality on their excellent strategies they put in place to manage the influx of holidaymakers. Well done!!!”

STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION
The Festive Season Monitoring Committee and operations over the festive season were undertaken in collaboration with SANParks and NSRI Wilderness. Jonathan Britton, Acting Park Manager for the Wilderness National Park expressed his gratitude to all staff, municipal and otherwise who worked long hours over the season.

“The Wilderness National Park and surrounding ecological and environmental assets is interwoven with the urban infrastructure of Wilderness and this combination of natural, social and economic systems is a complex interaction and requires a collaborative and integrated approach between various organisations to make it all work together.

The influx of visitors to the Garden Route during the summer holidays is an important boost for the local economy but requires planning and deployment of resources in an integrated and co-ordinated manner between various role players to ensure that local systems can manage the additional pressure. Building on the success of the previous year, the George Municipality continued to lead a multi stakeholder collaborative approach to ensure high standard of service delivery in and around Wilderness.

Daily presence of lifeguards, Traffic Officials, Law Enforcement officials, cleaning steams and SANParks staff were a common sight in Wilderness all working together ensuring a safe and environment for all. Impactful leadership and a hands-on approach were the order of the day with senior managers and directors meeting daily and overseeing the implementation of operational plans. This holiday season again proved the value of partnerships, dedication, and teamwork.”

Michael Vonk, CEO of George Regional Hospital and Station Commander for National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Station 23 lauded the successful management of this past festive season, which was one of the busiest in recent years. He did however qualify that a measured response should be adopted to the success of the season, as we did experience three fatal drownings, two at Wilderness Beach and one at Victoria Bay and a number of non-fatal drowning incidents. We extend our sincere condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones.

“The close collaboration, teamwork and partnerships between all role players to ensure the necessary preventative measures were in place, along with a coordinated emergency response were extremely effective to limit the number of serious incidents on our beaches.  In particular, the lifeguards should be recognised for their effort in preventing more drownings.”

EMERGENCY SERVICES
Lifeguards were deployed at Gwaing Beach, Herold’s Bay, Victoria Bay, Wilderness Leentjiesklip, Steps, Wilderness Main and Conville Public Swimming Pool on a full-time daily basis from 7am – 7pm and will remain in place until 31 January 2023 at the Blue Flag Beaches (Herold’s Bay, Victoria Bay and Wilderness Main). A total of 3 drownings, 35 rescues, 66 help outs, 66 First Aid incidents, 336 Bluebottle stings and 8 Emergency Medical Assistance were undertaken by the team of Lifeguards, NSRI and emergency personnel at the various beaches.

The newly acquired Jet rib, a 1800cc jet ski built into a rubber duck pontoon structure proved invaluable this season and a huge asset to the summer safety measures.  The mobile JOC was deployed for 10 days of high season and the Fire Brigade drone was used to survey sea conditions, for shark spotting , searching of missing persons and during rescue operations once again showing the value of expenditure on technology to aid in safety measures.

Emergency Services were kept busy and attended to 8  formal structure fires and 23 informal structure fires. Regrettably, two lives were lost in the  informal structure fires. Fire officials also attended to 59 veld fires, 2 building fires, 4 motor vehicle fires, 47 motor vehicle incidents, 32 other emergency incidents, 4 drownings and 23 false alarms.

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT / PARKING / POINT DUTY
George Traffic Services actively patrolled all municipal areas in collaboration with Western Cape Provincial Traffic including participating in regular vehicle check points focussing on drunk driving, vehicle and driver fitness. Traffic flow was managed as best possible in particular at congested intersections such as the N2/Victoria Bay, Garden Route Mall, the exit ramp to Mossel Bay on Knysna Road, N2/Station Road (Wilderness), N2/Caltex (Wilderness), N2/Sanparks and N2/Salinas.

Temporary road signs and traffic cones were placed at dangerous locations to ensure compliance (prevention of illegal parking/obstruction/encroachment on roadways) causing danger to other road users. To ease traffic flow, each beach had an area demarcated for Drop and Go. Staff deployed over this period at beaches were 8 traffic wardens and 20 EPWP staff assisting with Drop and Go, monitoring and enforcement of parking, road closures and directing motorists to suitable parking locations.

Aside from the beaches and high-pressured traffic points attended to throughout the city, traffic officials assisted with 12 funeral escorts as well as traffic control at various events including the Christmas Lights Festival, George Tens, Palm Tyres 21km race etc.  43 vehicle accidents were attended to without recorded injuries, 10 with injuries and three with fatalities. 322 notices for a variety of traffic and vehicle offences were issued, 32 impoundments and fine collection totalling R70 000 was brought in.

The Vehicle Testing Station offered 3 days in December where a free 10 Point check could be done on your vehicle before traveling. This is the second year the service was offered and  40 motorists took advantage of it. The same service will be offered 10 – 13 January 2023, 08h30 – 15h30 (VTS, Hibernia Street).

BLUE FLAG BEACHES AND CLEANSING
Wilderness, Main Beach and Herold’s Bay Beach remain full Blue Flag beaches until 31 January 2023, and Victoria Bay retains Pilot Blue Flag status. Compliance is required in terms of the international standards, which includes high standards of water quality monitoring, public safety, lifeguard services and  well-maintained coastal amenities.

Oil spills consisting of hydrocarbon, low-sulphur oil droplets were found on several beaches along the Garden Route in early December with a multi-agency command centre established to resolve the issue. There have been no reports linking the oil spill to humans, birds, or marine life and all affected George beaches were declared green status (i.e., monitored and open for use) by 8^th December 2022. George Municipal cleaning teams together with Working for the Coast teams, worked non-stop for days to clear Herold’s Bay, Victoria Bay, Ballot’s Bay, Wilderness beach from Leentjiesklip to Salina’s beach, Gwaiing Beach, and Kaaimans mouth.

Municipal beach cleaning teams started working at 06:00 until 21h00 on many nights and started at 04h00 on New Year’s Day to ensure that the beaches were clean for the first beachgoers the next morning. The cleaning teams also did sterling work in keeping the beach ablution facilities in excellent condition despite heavy usage. Our CBD cleansing teams kept the town clean and neat for visitors.

BEACH MONITORS, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ANTI-LAND INVASION OFFICIALS
George Municipality was adamant that no alcohol would be allowed on our beaches and confiscated 317 litres of alcohol with a retail value of approximately R21 110 from the start of the festive season.   Neighborhood Watches, Community Police Forums as well as the SAPS worked closely with the Municipality with regards to Community Safety. The confiscated alcohol will be handed over to SAPS for disposal.

The department of Forensic Pathology Services for George assisted by the Community Police forum, SANParks, George Law Enforcement, Neighbourhood Watch and Bambanani members at the Wilderness and LeentjiesKlip beach areas handed out 8000 orange and yellow armbands to children. The yellow and orange armbands are written up with the parent or caregivers name and contact details and recorded in a register to assist in the event of them being separated from their parents or caregivers. Two children were reunited with their families using this system at Wilderness Lagoon.

FIREWORKS
George Municipality continued to implement a complete ban on the setting off of fireworks, firecrackers, flares, paper lanterns, and other such paraphernalia in the George municipal area. Over 292 visits were undertaken to a variety of retail outlets and an estimated R4500 worth of fireworks was confiscated (retail value) with fines issued totalling R14 500. It is encouraging to see that the value of fines and confiscations has declined on last year and we thank those retail outlets who have adhered to the applicable regulations.

MUNICIPAL OFFICES REMAINED OPEN  – SERVICE DELIVERY ONGOING
The municipal offices  were only closed on the Public Holidays and for a few days after the 27^th December following a burst pipe which caused extensive water damage to the third, second and first floor of the main building in York Street.

Our Planning division processed 309 building plans in-season with 113 approved, which was 104 residential, 9 non-residential. 144 applications (124 residential and 20 non-residential) remain in circulation. A total of 196 (170 residential and 26 non-residential) were not approved due to either not complying and/or additional information being required. A total of 46 (44 residential and 2 non-residential) Certificates of Occupancy were issued. Furthermore, a total of 106 Building Control related inspections were conducted. These include 13 commencement inspections, 12 drainage inspections and 81 completion inspections.

The Building Control division was equally busy with building control contraventions and complaints that were able to be addressed expeditiously over the festive season. A total 35 complaints were received and attended to.

Our human settlements division dealt with the aftermath of several fires which took place in December with a large incident totalling 20 informal housefire cases in Edameni reported on 10 December 2022. All 20 families lost their structures with belongings during this incident. Temporary accommodation was given to the 20 families at the All-brick Community Hall. The municipal Social Services division assisted those affected with mattresses, blankets, food  and other items. Assistance was given to four families who accepted second hand building material. Another five families have been  prioritised and will receive assistance soon. The remaining families must still provide the balance of documentation required for assistance in terms of the approved Emergency Accommodation and Assistance Policy.

Two BNG (Breaking New Ground) houses affected by fires  will be investigated where after an application in terms of the Emergency Housing Programme will be submitted to the Western Cape Provincial Department of Human Settlements.

George Municipality maintains a monthly river sample programme year-round, downstream of our pumping stations near or next to any rivers within George and surrounds. This monitoring program is not a legislative requirement but was implemented by the George Municipality as a precautionary management measure to monitor the infrastructure, and protect our environment, where a risk of possible pollution may occur.

George Municipality has with the award of Blue Flag Status for Wilderness Main Beach, Herold’s Bay and Victoria Bay (Pilot Status) implemented as of 7 November 2022, formal testing of the water at these beaches and where relevant, river mouth to ensure that the stringent requirements based on the most appropriate international and national standards and legislation are met. Blue Flag is an international eco-label and has one global standard for water quality. It is an international coastal management programme that accredits beaches that meet standards of excellence in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and information as well as safety and services. In South Africa the programme is implemented by the Wildlife Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA).

Each appointed Blue Flag beach as well as Pilot beaches,  must fully comply with the water quality sampling and frequency requirements. There must be at least one sampling point, which must be located where the highest number of swimmers are. In addition, where there are potential sources of pollution, e.g., near streams, rivers or other inlets, storm water outlets, etc. additional sampling points must be established at these sites to provide evidence that such inflows do not affect bathing water quality.

Samples should be taken 30 cm below the water surface with a minimum of five samples required, evenly distributed during the season. The first sample must be taken within 31 days before the official starting date of the Blue Flag season. George Municipality has an appointed accredited service provider who takes samples approximately every third day, subject to public holidays. An independent person, officially authorised and trained for the task, must collect the samples and only results from an independent nationally or internationally accredited laboratory will be accepted.  Our own laboratory tests as a control measure when there is a pollution incident on a specific beach.

Herold’s Bay Blue Flag Beach showed contamination following testing and the beach (not the tidal pools) was closed for swimming on the morning of Sunday 1 January 2023 as per the results received from the accredited laboratory on Saturday (31 December 2022). The Blue Flag requirements for Escherichia coli (Faecal Coli bacteria) are below 250 cfu/100m ; and for Intestinal Enterococci (Stretococci) below 100 cfu/100ml.  Escherichia coli (Faecal Coli bacteria) limits of over 500/540 in coastal waters are deemed unsafe for swimming.

Herolds’s Bay was reopened for swimming at 12pm on New Year’s Day based on the follow up test results which came out midday 1 January. Subsequent thorough investigation by our Civil Engineering Department has confirmed that the pollution was caused by a sewer pipe failure  in the network that led to contaminated water draining onto the beach from the minor river tributary following the high rainfall. Repairs have been completed on the network and the spillage addressed as per protocol.

Testing of the Gwaing River Mouth as well as those areas of the river located near the Proefplaas pumpstation form part of the regular maintenance programme for George Municipality. The beach and river mouth do not form a part of the Blue Flag programme. On Sunday  4 December 2022, a possible pollution incident (discolouring in the water at the mouth was reported) and subsequent testing for Escherichia coli (Faecal Coli bacteria) was done by the Municipal Laboratory as well as the accredited service provider. Gwaing River Beach and Mouth was closed for swimming and remained closed based on daily test results until Friday 9 December 2022 when reopened for swimming.  The area was again closed on 21 December; reopened briefly on the 30 December and has since 31 December remained closed.

The Civil Engineering Services department has continued to investigate the source of the pollution as no pumpstations have failed during this period. It would appear that there are two sources, one of historic sludge on the riverbed which was disturbed following rough seas and the other is sewer spillage emanating from identified manholes located near or along Gwaing River as well as several tributaries which join the Gwaing River. Civil Engineering teams have walked the rivers, and the sewer network wherever possible to locate the source. Testing of water quality has continued further upstream on a regular basis in order to pinpoint any additional sources of pollutant.

Gwaing River Beach and Mouth remains closed based on the current accredited and own laboratory results, due to the inherent dangers of swimming in contaminated water. Illnesses caused by Ecoli can range from mild to severe and life-threatening. Most people get better within 5 to 7 days. Young children infected with Ecoli are at highest risk for developing severe symptoms and complications, such as kidney failure.

George Municipality acknowledges the frustrations of the public in this regard but In the interests of health and safety and to protect our residents, the municipality continues to urge the public not to swim until the levels are within acceptable norms. Notices will be issued as soon as test results clear the Gwaing Beach and River Mouth for swimming.

George Municipality holds a daily Festive Monitoring Committee meeting with all directorates which includes external stakeholders such as SAPS, SANparks and NSRI. The committee jumped in and added preparation for the Storm Alert issued last week to the regular agenda about festive safety and service delivery in George as result keeping the damages to a minimum. External stakeholders such as SANPARKS made immediate arrangements to breach the Touws River in advance of any possible flooding in Wilderness.

Stormwater Clearance
Stormwater infrastructure in the usual problematic areas were cleaned days in advance after receipt of the alert and where possible damaged infrastructure was repaired in anticipation of potential flooding. The storm water division has followed a stringent programme of cleaning throughout George and surrounds prior to the festive season starting.

A total of 19 storm water complaints were received and addressed. One stormwater pipeline collapsed in Dormehlsdrift.  It  must be noted that a number of areas have recently had their stormwater networks upgraded using municipal grant funding (MIG) and that these areas had no problems over the past weekend,  highlighting the value of the investment in our neighbourhoods.

George Fire and Disaster Services
The Disaster Centre filled and issued 84 sandbags in preparation of the poor weather with sand supplied by our Civil Engineering Services Directorate. Three additional personnel were added to the Disaster Call Centre to handle the influx of calls and two additional Emergency cellphone numbers were issued for public to make contact with the Disaster Centre. A number of senior officials were tasked with moving around the city during the periods of high rainfall to continuously monitor any potential flooding and report back to the Disaster Centre for action. One motor vehicle accident was reported in the Outeniqua Pass and one informal house fire was addressed on Saturday afternoon.

Traffic control and road closures
CJ Langehoven and Courtney Street were partially closed for a short period on Friday. Traffic officials or pointsmen were placed at the critical busy intersections impacted by flooding on Friday. Additional batteries were placed at critical intersections to accommodate the extended loadshedding periods over the weekend which affected the ability of the UPS’s to recharge. Where a battery could not be added, traffic officials or pointsmen were placed for short periods to resolve traffic flow.

Debris cleanup by Community Services
Community Services teams cleared the CBD of storm debris on Saturday and continue to clear the beaches each morning with some debris visible early this morning. Cleanup generally takes place before 8am of each day.

Formal Housing
A total of 51 requests were received for gunplast in various areas for persons residing in backyards and houses with roof leakages, however in terms our policy in this regard gunplast cannot be distributed to persons living on private property and in  formal housing. Priority was thus given to persons residing in the informal settlements.

Informal Settlements
A total of 113 requests for gunplast was received from the informal areas with 43 pieces issued to date. Human Settlement officials will continue with the distribution of gunplast in the informal areas for the remaining requests.

Power outages due to inclement weather
A power outage in the Herold’s Bay farming area was weather related. Other outages in Heather Park. Blanco, Herold’s Bay beachfront, Oubaai and Breakwater Bay were related to loadshedding.

George Municipality has completed the installation of a temporary package plant with a very short turnaround time to help the municipality cope with the high increase in daily water demand during the peak season. Although this package plant will add an extra 5 Ml/day of treated drinking water to the daily production, there remains a high risk of not being able to meet the full daily demand for drinking water which is why water restrictions will remain in place to curb the excessive and unnecessary use of drinking water by residents and holidaymakers alike.

The package plant is also intended to supplement the available treated drinking water in 2023 while various rehabilitation work is done at the Old and the New Water Treatments Works, and availability of supply will remain constrained until the new 20Ml WTW capacity extension has been completed in 2025

Executive Mayor for George, Leon van Wyk and Portfolio Councillor for Civil Engineering Services: Capital Projects and BFI Cllr Jackie Von Brandis paid a visit to the new site of the package plant which was installed in record time. “We are extremely grateful for the work of Civil Engineering Services that managed to complete the installation of the package plant in such a short time to assist the town with portable water,” said Cllr Von Brandis.

Why are the stricter water restrictions necessary?
The problem is twofold with the Garden Route as a whole on alert that our raw water sources such as the Garden Route dam are being affected by low rainfall  – the Garden Route dam volume dropped to 45.8% last week and although rainfall of 123 mm was measured over the last 7 days (from Monday 12^th December) the dam  volume has only increased to 57.43% as measured Monday 19 December,  which gives us a grace period for which we are thankful but does not resolve the water scarcity entirely. At 57.43% the available volume is equal to approximately 165 days of raw water supply. It is expected that the volume may increase slightly with the post-rainfall runoff.

The Municipality is in the process of reviewing the Bulk Raw Water Resources Study that considers all potential resources. The public cannot assume that because we have been blessed with a short spell of decent rain that they can continue to use drinking water indiscriminately. We have no guarantee of what the rainfall patterns will bring over the next few months and we need to conserve what we have received.

The other problem lies with the production of treated drinking water – the old water treatment works (Circa 1950) is not producing drinking water at it’s original design capacity, and the Denneoord Water Treatment Works can currently produce 20Ml/day provided this is not affected by the extended ESKOM loadshedding we are currently experiencing. Remedial works is planned at both the old water treatment works and the Denneoord water treatment works to optimise the capacity of these two existing plant.

However, if residents, holidaymakers, business and industry do not reduce their daily use of drinking water there is a possibility of us running into difficulties as the demand may exceed the capacity to supply sufficient drinking water. As previously reported the construction of an additional 20Ml/day Water Treatment Works (treats raw water to drinking water standard) is underway but completion only expected for 2025.

Follow this link for the detailed Stricter Water Restrictions in English/Afrikaans and Isixhosa.
https://www.george.gov.za/george-doc-categories/public-notices/general/

Contraventions of the Water Restrictions can be reported on 0800 424477. Fines will apply and/or six months imprisonment.

Report water leaks and burst pipes to 044 801 9262/66 or after hours at 044 801 6300, as soon as you notice them.