Cape Town's Blue Flag Beaches

Turtle SA

With the recent suspension of Big Bay's Blue Flag status we thought we'd take a closer look at what all the fuss is about a Blue Flag Beach.

What is a Blue Flag beach?

The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to over 3450 beaches and marinas in 41 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.

A Blue Flag accredited beach gives local and foreign visitors the knowledge that their beaches are clean, environmentally sound and adhere to international safety and other tourist standards.

The Blue Flag Programme was started in France and is owned and run by an independent non-profit organisation - Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). In South Africa, the programme is managed by WESSA, the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa in partnership with participating local muncipalities.

The programme works towards sustainable development at beaches through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services. The programme is also about educating and providing information for the general public, decision makers and tourism operators.

What criteria are covered?

There is a comprehensive set of 32 criteria spanning four sections.

Environmental Education and Information ensures that users of the beach are informed about the water quality and local eco-systems and environmental phenomena. The Blue Flag, map of the beach indicating the different facilities and a code of conduct reflecting laws governing the beach must all be displayed at the beach.

Water Quality has a section of its own detailing how the beach has to compy with the water quality sampling and frequency requirements. The water samples have to be analysed and comply with certain quality indicators (physical and chemical). No industrial, waste-water or sewage discharges should be detected. Microbiological faecal coli bacteria and intestinal enterococci and stroptococci counts have to be complied with.

Environmental Management criteria includes establishing a beach management committee, ensuring the beach is clean and that adequate waste bins and toilet facilities are provided. Facilities have to be kept clean and restroom facilities must have controlled sewage disposal. Access to the beach by dogs or other domestic animals must be controlled. Guidelines also recommend that sustainable modes of transport should be promoted and that there are facilities for separation of recyclable waste.

The Safety and Services criteria ensures an adequate number of lifeguards are on duty and first aid equipment is available. Emergency plans to cope with pollution risks should be in place. A drinking water supply should be available and at least one Blue Flag beach in each municipality must have access and facilities for the physically disabled.

What is the history of the Blue Flag beach programme?

The Blue Flag was born in France in 1985 and by 1987 had expanded to 244 beaches and 208 marinas across 10 countries in Europe. South Africa was one of the first countries outside of the EU to join the programme in November 2001.

In South Africa the Blue Flag season runs for a full year from 1st November to 31st October the following year for beaches from East London northwards because of the year-round swimming season. For other beaches, the length of the season varies from beach to beach: some for 6 months and others on the cold West Coast, only running a 4 week season during the main summer holiday season.

For the 2008/2009 season South Africa had 19 Blue Flag beaches and this was increased in October 2009 further beaches were announced bringing the total for the 2009/2010 season to 29 beaches.

Which Cape Town Beaches have Blue Flag status?

Bikini beach, Clifton fourth beach, Camps Bay, Muizenberg, Strandfontein beach and Mnandi beach are all currently accredited with Blue Flag status. Cape Town’s Blue Flag season runs from 1 December through 31 March. This means that during this period, from 10am-6pm, beach users can enjoy a clean beach with a facilities maintained to high standards, and with visible safety and security (lifeguards and Law Enforcement).

Big Bay was newly awarded Blue Flag status this season, but the City of Cape Town withdrew Big Bay from the programme, because of groundwater management problems, which will take quite some time to resolve.

What is the story with Big Bay?

On 14 January the City of Cape Town withdrew the Blue Flag status granted to Big Bay amid water management issues. Big Bay will be managed as a "pilot" Blue Flag beach, ensuring the continuation of services and standards set by the Blue Flag Programme, until the situation has been resolved.

Concerns about Big Bay beach arose last year when a "foul-smelling" layer of green sludge coating the surface of the beach and "continual dampness" of the beach sand were reported opposite the Big Bay Surf Lifesaving Clubhouse. The number of reports increased following Big Bay's award of Blue Flag status in October 2009. The City liaised with WESSA, the managing agency for Blue Flag in SA and following a routine inspection the Blue Flag status was temporarily suspended.

A City investigation revealed the foreign layer to be freshwater green algae, a phenonmenon harmless to beach users, and the routine water monitoring shows that the beach complies with EU water quality standards as there is no harmful levels of faecal bacteria in the seawater.

The City of Cape Town's report has identified a raised ground water table and this with storm water outflows and a leaking irrigation system (since stopped) on the dune in front of the Clubhouse are cited as the probable causes of persistent dampness on the beach. An engineering expert will be asked to assess the storm water and ground water system and recommed what action to take.

Blue Flag national manager, Alison Kelly, said that the environmental management aspect was cause for concern, but other criteria including water quality, ablution facilities and cleanliness, still met the Blue Flag requirements.

Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services, Councillor Gerhard Ras says "the City will continue to provide and improve upon the safety and infrastructural services provided at the beach, but it will not fly the Blue Flag" and that "any remedial action will take place over a lengthy period but the City is committed to resolving this matter".