Cape Town: Dredging in full swing at Home Bay section of Zeekoevlei

The City of Cape Town’s major dredging project at Zeekoevlei is progressing well, with work now underway in the Home Bay section of the False Bay Nature Reserve after 207 000m³ of sediment was removed from Storm Bay.

The Home Bay phase will remove an estimated 157 000m³ of sediment over the next 10 months, with the overall project expected to conclude in early 2027.

“The dredging of Zeekoevlei is a key investment and delivers on our commitment to restore, improve and protect our vleis. With the dredging, we are removing the sediment that has accumulated over time, and reducing nutrient build-up that contributes to poor water quality,” said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

“The dredger is moored with 2,5-ton concrete mooring blocks. All 16 mooring blocks were moved from Storm Bay to Home Bay during the relocation to this section of the vlei. The dredger itself was disconnected from the pipeline in Storm Bay and towed to Home Bay with a support vessel. This operation and the preparations for the dredging of the second section took about three weeks.”

This is the first dredging operation at the vlei in 42 years and forms part of the City’s efforts to improve water quality, reduce nutrient build-up and restore the health of the ecosystem.