Welcome To Breede-Olifants CMA...
BOCMA is an acronym for Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency and is the lead agent for water resources management within the Breede-Gouritz Water Management Area (BGWMA). The BGWMA is the result of the amalgamation of the Breede WMA and Gouritz WMA. The BGWMA is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the south, the Berg-Olifants WMA to the west, the Orange WMA to the north and the Mzimvubu-Tsitsikamma WMA to the east.
The South African Water Management Areas
The BGWMA falls largely within the Western Cape Province with a small portion of the upper catchment of the Olifants River being in the Eastern Cape Province and tiny portions of the upper catchments of the Gamka and Groot Rivers falling in the Northern Cape Province.
The Provinces Of South Africa
The Breede-Gouritz WMA includes the catchment area of the Gouritz River and its major tributaries (the Gamka, Groot and Olifants Rivers) as well as the catchments of the smaller coastal rivers that lie to the east and west of the Gouritz River mouth, the Breede River and the catchments of the smaller coastal rivers that lie to the west of the Breede River mouth, viz. the Palmiet-, Kars-, Sout-, Uylenkraals-, Klein-, Onrus- and Bot-Swart Rivers. The two large rivers within the BGWMA are the Breede and Gouritz Rivers.
The Breede River, with its main tributary the Riviersonderend River, discharges into the Indian Ocean. The Gouritz River has three main tributaries - the Groot, Gamka and Olifants Rivers. There are a number of other smaller rivers in the BGWMA, viz. the Touws, Duivenhoks, Goukou, Hartenbos, Great Brak, Kaaimans, Knysna and Keurbooms.
BOCMA Institutional Arrangements
The Breede-Olifants Catchment Agency (BOCMA) was established by the then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry in July 2005 in terms of the National Water Act (36 of 1998). The Governing Board was appointed in October 2007 and the CMA became operational with the appointment of the CEO and subsequent personnel. The BOCMA plays a key role in protecting, using, developing, conserving, managing and controlling water resources in a cooperative manner. This requires that the BOCMA plays a central and coordinating role with regards to water use, linking national, provincial and local government as well as a host of sector partners and stakeholders.
Institutional Arrangements of the BGCMA
The BOCMA is accountable to the Minister of Water and Sanitation (DWS). In order to play that coordinating and regulatory role, the BOCMA has a close cooperative relationship with the DWS, largely with the DWS Regional Office, but also with key line functions at the National Office. As the BOCMA develops its capacity, the DWS Regional Office will increasingly play an oversight and regulatory role and is in the process of withdrawing its operational presence in the former Gouritz WMA in support of the BOCMA's development process.
As the central hub for water resource management in its water management area, the BOCMA accepts responsibility for performing both initial functions and delegated functions. As the BOCMA develops capacity and as DWS's role shifts away from implementation towards one of oversight and regulation, the BOCMA will receive more delegations and possibly with the assignments.
The delegated functions of the BOCMA support the broad functional areas of:
- Localised management activities related to local management, conservation, protection and monitoring activities.
- Registration and water use verification in support of improved water use authorisation processes and improved understanding of water resource availability.
- Institutional development with emphasis on water user association establishment processes.
