Author: Chantel Edwards

George Municipality in welcoming tourists to George, and as a signal to the start of our festive season will be putting up and switching on our Christmas lights soon.   Although no official event is planned for the official switching on of the lights this year, mainly due to COVID restrictions, the lights bring holiday cheer to tourists and resident alike, and our teams are working on having the lights fully operational by Friday. Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk will switch lights on at Unity Park, Saturday, 11 December at 20h00.

For those wondering about loadshedding and energy saving, please be reminded that loadshedding is essentially Eskom’s inability to provide reliable electricity. George Municipality has implemented a number of energy-saving initiatives, including the commissioning of the newly built PV Plant at the Main Municipal Building, as well as the conversion of a large part of George’s streetlights and traffic lights to LED. All municipal buildings have been converted to energy saving lights.

George is a holiday town and tourism destination for many, the switching on of festive lights plays a part in celebrating unity, joy and are a symbol of life and happiness.  They are also a beloved attraction of visitors to George, who often make a special family trip to view the lights in the different areas of George and the now famous Denneoord home displays.  We have noticed that more communities are joining in on this practice, so if you want to show off your display this year, please list your property with George Tourism by sending an e-mail to info@visitgeorge.co.za and they will put you on the viewing list.

Visitors to the Gwaiing Landfill site will be pleasantly surprised at the number of changes that have taken place over the past few months. In August this year stricter access control was implemented to address safety concerns and ten Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers were employed to assist around the site and to address safety concerns.

ACCESS CONTROL IMPROVED
All vehicles now use the access gate for the refuse transfer station, and must go over the weighbridge for weighing and then proceed via the 2^nd gate inside the transfer station, towards the Gwaiing landfill site. Every vehicle entering the facility is then recorded and weighed when it enters, and when it exits. This system enables the municipality to capture correct waste management data and complies with the Provincial Department of Environmental and Development Planning’s requirements.

• All household and office refuse must be dumped at the refuse transfer station. Only green waste, organic waste, woodcuttings, sawdust, builders rubble, construction waste and soil are permitted on the landfill site.
• No hazardous waste, light tubing, any vehicle parts, tyres, all asbestos products, e-waste, plastic or cartons  are permitted on the landfill site.

• No mixed waste: waste must be separated at the source and disposed of at the right waste facility. (Landfill site or refuse transfer station) If you are not sure ask one of the officials on duty at the weighbridge.

FESTIVE SEASON CLOSURES

The municipal garden refuse site and transfer station is closed on 25 and 26^th,  December and will be open on New Year’s day for business as usual,weekdays 7am-6pm and Saturdays 7am to 5pm. The site is situated on the R102 (airport road turn-off from York Street).  For queries contact 044 802 2296 or email cplubbe@george.gov.za

The municipality asks the public to assist and work together with the security personnel and municipal officials at these facilities to ensure that all occupational health and safety regulations, COVID -19 protocols and all licensing conditions of the refuse transfer station and Gwaiing landfill site are adhered to.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

To address the disposal of household hazardous waste, the George Municipality will host its second Open Day for the collection of household hazardous waste on 10 December, in the parking lot opposite Outeniqua Stadium, Augusta Street. Open from 08:00  – 15:00, the public to please note all Covid-19 protocols will be observed.

SUITABLE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

• Motor oil, oil filters, brake fluid
  • Used antifreeze
  • Paint, paint thinner, turpentine
  • Pesticides or herbicides
  • Household batteries
  • CRTs, old TVs, miscellaneous electronics
  • Tyres
  • Fluorescent tubes and Globes
  • Household medical waste (needles and old medicine and tablets)

HAZARDOUS WASTE  NOT ACCEPTED

• Explosives
  • Ammunition
  • Radioactive Materials
  • Controlled Substances

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Bring the items you wish to dispose of in a strong box preferably in their original, labelled containers.
  • Do not EVER mix products together.
  • Be prepared to leave your containers, due to permitting requirements, and the volume of people that may utilise the program.

This is your opportunity to get rid of these items at NO COST and at a convenient, nearby location. For any enquiries, Grace Notshokovu 044 802 2917.

George Municipal Fire and Rescue Services are ready for the fire season, which officially runs in the Western Cape from December 2020 to March 2021.

George Fire Chief Neels Barnard said the municipality’s own fleet was well-equipped and the Southern Cape would once again have additional air support from its Denneoord Emergency Airbase ensuring a comprehensive response to the diverse firefighting challenges in our municipal area.

A chopper, three spotter planes and two water bombers will serve the Garden Route district from the airbase during the 2021/22 fire season with a second chopper on standby.

The municipality appeals to residents and visitors to be mindful of hot summer conditions and to act responsibly to ensure that there are no unnecessary fires to contend with during a time when emergency services are stretched to the limit.  The public is reminded that fireworks are illegal because of the fire risk and that no controlled burns are allowed until fire season is over. Always remember to make fires in protected and designated areas only and dispose of cigarette butts safely.

George Fire emergency number: 044 801 6311
General emergency number: 044 801 6300

George Municipality and the engineering community this week celebrated the success of the award-winning Garden Route Dam spillway as the dam overflowed for the first time since the spillway and dam wall was raised in 2019/20.

George Municipality Civil Engineering Services Acting Director Lionel Daniels said the heavy rainfall and flash floods that occurred on Monday had understandably overshadowed the dam’s overflowing on the same day (22 November 2021), but it remained a significant milestone in the city’s long-term water security. “There are many reasons we are celebrating this project including an increased capacity of 25% by raising the full supply level of the dam by only 2.5 metres. The ingenious duckbill-shaped spillway design improved the dam’s safety in a practical and cost-effective way that earned the designers, Zutari (formerly Aurecon), a win in the Technical Excellence category at the South African Institute of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Awards in November 2020.

“The design is relatively new in the engineering world, and as far as we know is not being used in this way in South Africa. It was extensively researched and tested at the University of Tshwane and its shape is designed to slow down water flow using basic physics principles. The design is brilliant in its simplicity and it was a real victory to see the dam overflow and the spillway working so effectively,” said Mr Daniels.

The Garden Route Dam, situated just outside the north-east urban edge of George, is the main source of potable water for the city and its capacity had become a concern as the municipal area continued to grow exponentially since the early 2000s.

In addition, the Southern Cape had experienced two major droughts in seven years, which had been unheard of in this prolific all-year rainfall area. The dam recorded its lowest ever level of 16.9% in February 2010 and again dropped to 41,2% in September 2017.

The Garden Route Dam spillway and wall project was completed in January 2020 and increased the dam storage capacity by 25% from 10 million cubic metres to an estimated new capacity of 12,5 million cubic metres.

Project details:
The previous Garden Route spillway was 25m wide, which was extended to 80m by curving the spillway in the upstream direction. The new spillway consists of a reinforced concrete cantilever structure, which is unusual for hydraulic structures of this type, as these are normally self-stable by their mass. To enhance the stability, the structure is provided with rockfill on the upstream side of the wall footing, in addition to rock anchors.

Although the full supply level (FSL) of the dam was raised by 2.5 m, due to the local terrain the tallest portion of the new spillway wall is 4.9 m tall. A total of 1,780 m3 of concrete was used (750 m3 mass concrete, 300 m3 for the walls, 390 m3 for the wall footing, and 340 m3 for the channel).

The main dam wall was also raised by 1.76m to prevent overtopping by placing earth fill on top of the existing embankment. Selected material was placed as follows: general fill (12,500 m3), rip-rap (2,500 m3), filter sand (750 m3), and topsoil (2,050 m3).

Caption
The Garden Route Dam overflowed for the first time since its spillway had been raised in 2019. The award-winning bill-shaped design increased the dam’s overall capacity by 25% by raising the spillway by only 2.5m.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk photographed at the Oewer Street repair site this morning for an update on the status of repairs. The repair work is progressing well and it is expected that the pipeline repair will be completed by 14h00. “I would like to thank the residents of George for their patience and understanding during this unprecedented weather disaster. We have now seen the extensive infrastructure damage that such flash flooding can do, with our water infrastructure taking the bulk of the force of the water.”

George measured 105mm of rainfall in a two-hour period on Monday 22n^d November which led to extensive flash flood damage to private as well as municipal infrastructure. In total George received 148.5 mm of rain from Monday to this morning (Wednesday 24 November). It is with immense gratitude that the municipality can advise that no injuries or fatalities were reported following the storm. The George Fire and Emergency Services is aware of 26 formal houses that flooded, and to date over 800 families of informal structures have been identified as  affected by flooding and requiring assistance. Emergency Services responded to one motor vehicle accident on Monday.

Roads which remain closed
Our traffic officials dealt with 10 traffic callouts from early morning on Monday, which included the closure of four roads that were completely impassable for a number of hours. Saasveld Road from Madiba Driver (Pine Lodge) to NMU is closed with extensive damage and repair work to be undertaken by Garden Route District Municipality which has jurisdiction over this road. In George itself, the Pienaar Street Bridge remains closed and the railway line opposite Correctional Services, Union street has been damaged.

Gunplast requests
The George Municipal Human Settlements directorate has worked solidly since Monday addressing requests for gunplast. Members of the public who require assistance with the supply of  “Gunplast” please register their requests as follows:

1. Telephonically report the matter to the George JOC on 044 801 6316 or After Hours 044 8016300
2. Visit your nearest Area Office or Ward /other Councillor who will report on your behalf.
3. Email to gmun@george.gov.za providing the necessary Contact Details, Names of residents affected and Street Address.
4. Log via the Municipal App, Housing Queries OR General Request with the necessary Contact Details, Names of Residents affected and Street Address

Such faults will be assigned to the Human Settlements Directorate for assessment and assistance where possible. An application form must be completed and the resident must provide an Identity Document.

Beaches, streets and rivers being cleaned, refuse collection backlog being cleared
Community Services have been hard at work cleaning up the beaches including Victoria Bay (79 black bags collected), Herold’s Bay (220) and Ballots Bay(137 ) and will continue today.. Community Services thanks members of the public who voluntarily assisted with the clean-ups. Street cleaning teams will be clearing the streets which are full of debris. Community Workers will begin assisting the municipality with the clearing of debris from the Meul, Kat and Molen Rivers today.

Refuse Collection was unable to take place on Monday due to impassable roads. The backlog for Monday will however be addressed on Wednesday 24 November, after the Wednesday areas are cleared. The refuse teams will work until the backlog has been cleared.

Water outages, roads cleared
George Municipality has experienced severe infrastructure damage following the flash flooding. This resulted in several pipebursts affecting water supply to a large portion of the city. The municipality is managing this crisis  and continues to circulate water trucks to strategic areas throughout mostly the eastern side of the city. The water situation remains critical with reservoir levels supplying the eastern and CBD areas very low. Currently Thembalethu, Pacaltsdorp , Blanco, Conville, Borcherds, Lawaaikamp, Protea Park, New Levallia, Blue Mountain and surrounds are the only areas not affected by the water outage. The civil engineering road teams will also continue clearing sand and flood debris as they are able to throughout the city.

Power outages
Our electrotechnical teams have attended to over 30 high voltage repairs and countless low voltage matters over the past days. Currently the only areas that remain affected are the Strydom Line (Wilderness Heights)  which remains off due to two broken poles that will be replaced and lines repaired and a portion of Victoria Bay where one transformer needs replacement.

Humanitarian Relief
The Social Services department has spent most of yesterday collating a list of families and structures worst hit by the floods and which are located in informal settlements. This list will be used for the various humanitarian relief operations currently underway in George.  A family of 7 persons was sheltered in a Thembalethu community hall on Monday evening and have since returned to their structure.

The municipality has been inundated with offers of assistance for those affected by the flash flooding.
Any donations of food, blankets, clothing, mattresses, bedding, toiletries  can be delivered to the Garden Route Food Pantry located at 1 Glaze street, next door to Takelot depot.
Contact Carl on 0828260731 or Tillie on 0721881207 in this regard. George Municipality will handle the assigning of donations to those in need.

Municipal Offices closed, except Finance Cashier Hall

Due to lack of water supply in the city centre, all municipal administration in the CBD except the Finance/Client Services Hall in the main building, are closed. Chemical toilets are available nearby – please enquire from security as to their location should you need to use the facilities. Phones of administration staff have been transferred to relevant numbers and staff are working remotely.

George Municipality remains committed to service delivery. Thank you for your support, understanding and cooperation during the challenging time.

South African Weather Service has released a Level 4 Yellow Warning for Damaging Winds for George and other areas from Friday 26 November in the morning. Gale force winds gusting up to 80-100km/h are predicted. Updates will be issued by the SA Weather Services, please pay attention to local news and social media.