The Bell River bursts its banks by Dave Walker
The week ending on the St Valentine’s Day 2009 saw great rainfall in the Bell River catchment that culminated in a deluge during the night of the 14th. The result was a flood that peaked during the afternoon of Sunday the 15th February 2009. The water level rose to within 150mm of the floor level of the cottage, “Basjan Blom”, closest to the flood on the corner of Main and Ross Streets and almost flooded the village pump station.
Residents gathered and viewed the scene in awe. At one stage on the Carlisleshoek turnoff, the water level in the riverbed was much higher than that of the road. Sitting in a bakkie, eye-level was the same as the waves in the middle of the torrent. This soon changed as the aftermath of the Working for Water ring-barking activities made itself felt. Huge logs came thundering down the river, crashing into the dead trees that lined the bank tearing more logs down and away. In fact, the biomass of logs looked like goods trains barreling down the Bell but with many more times the force. Trees were ripped out as we watched, swept away with the ease of swatting a fly. The power of the flow was truly awesome – and truly frightening if you had the misfortune of having been caught up in the maelstrom. At Rhodes, the “log-trains” jammed up against the Carlisleshoek and Tuschielaw bridges forcing the water out of the watercourse and into the surrounding flood plain. After years of farming, these level areas are no longer covered in natural vegetation but have become lands for fodder production. At this time of year, the lands, having been prepared for planting are vulnerable. The flood of 2009 has accordingly resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of tons of precious topsoil. Arguably South Africa’s biggest export item, the topsoil is lost forever – but maybe not entirely. The !Xariep Dam slows down the flow and where flow is retarded, water drops it’s load. Maybe generations to come can derive some benefit from the siltation of the upper reaches of the dam but which is gone from the Bell River valley forever!
Of the bridges, the Maartenshoek Bridge was the worst hit. Completely rebuilt after years of neglect that had resulted in the previous edition collapsing, the volume of debris was too much for the new bridge. The spaces between the abutments and the center pier were rapidly filled with Working for Water debris. The resultant logjam diverted the flow to either side of the structure. This caused severe damage to the approaches to the extent that folk were trapped in (or out!) for a while. The good news is that the local authorities are currently working on repairing the damage. A 2ha land in Maartenshoek also disappeared, the water leaving a donga in its wake. Apart from damage to the approaches of the bridges, fences in the path of the torrent have been destroyed all along the valley. Kilometers of these fences are along public thoroughfares. Their absence can pose a threat to motorists using these roads where stock “escapes” from farms onto the roads. We hope that the authorities will pay equally prompt attention to this problem.
Fortunately, as it had stopped raining on the 15th, by Monday, the Bell River was back within its banks again, albeit still very high. As the water receded, so the damage in the flood plain became evident. It is still flowing above its normal level, damage currently below the water level will only become apparent as it drops back to normal. Judging by weather predictions, which may well take some time and it is hoped that a repeat of the devastation will not be seen for years to come.
The other side of the coin, of course, is that it is about risk management. Ploughing, fencing, ring barking, building or whatever in a flood plain is a risk. When the consequences are weighed up against the cost, as a puny human, taking on Mother Nature can be very expensive.
Corner of Ross and Main Streets, February 2010 – by Dave Walker.
And again!
Along came October 2010, more rain and lo & behold, yet another flood marginally lower than to February event. The timing was immaculate – fences had been repaired and Mother Nature swept them away, yet again.