Assessing dolomite risk management plans' potential to guide town-planning decisions

Abstract

Areas underlain by dolomite pose a risk for sinkhole and doline development and subsequently have serious implications towards the safe planning of towns. Research also indicates that almost all sinkholes and dolines formed on dolomitic areas were man-induced and may be contributed to a lack of informed decision making by town planners. Consequently, town-planning decisions must have a guiding plan to avoid unsuitable development on such areas. Such a guiding plan was identified as a Dolomite Risk Management Plan (DRMP). A DRMP has in recent years become a legal responsibility, to be implemented where development is taking place on areas underlain by dolomite according to SANS 1936 and the Geoscience Amendment Act, (16 of 2010). There however currently exists a need to determine to what extent a DRMP contributes to the town planning decisions making process. The aim of this study is to determine to what extent currently existing Dolomite Risk Management Plans contribute to a town planning decision-making process by means of the analysis of four case studies. Four case studies were assessed against a framework compiled through a literature study of all applicable legislation to determine to which extent each complies with the compulsory legislation in South Africa needed to guide safe and sustainable development. The study indicated that a need existed for a DRMP to guide town-planning decisions because it is people's constitutional right to be protected and to live in a safe environment. It was also concluded, through the random sampling and assessment of available results from four case studies against criteria from applicable legislation, that currently only 50% are capable of informing and guiding town planning decisions adequately.