Towards a water secure future

In just six years, the dams supplying Cape Town went from full to almost parched, as predicted rainfall did not materialise. It took three years for the dams to recover, and the city is now realising the objectives laid out in its Water Strategy to build generational resilience and water security.

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) drafted its Water Strategy during the peak of the recent severe drought. The strategy sets out plans to accelerate the development of new water sources to increase available water supply by 300 million litres per day over the next 10 years and reduce the reliability on surface water and risks associated with it.

“During this time, we all learnt harsh lessons about the finite nature of water availability, the unpredictability of rainfall and the reality of a changing climate,” says Alderman Dan Plato, executive mayor, CoCT.

He adds that the data around collective water consumption indicates that the city’s relationship with water has fundamentally changed – likely permanently. For the first time since restrictions were implemented, Capetonians are exceeding the requirements of water restrictions. Collective consumption hovers at around 650 Mℓ to 700 Mℓ per day – roughly 30% lower than historical levels.

While much improved water conservation has bought the city some time, droughts are predicted to become more frequent and intense, while the city’s population continues to grow. It is therefore vital for Cape Town to diversify its water sources and increase available supply. In this regard, the CoCT has already made some encouraging progress in pursuing the New Water Programme.

The Table Mountain Group Aquifer is already providing 15 million litres of groundwater per day and construction has commenced on the Cape Flats Aquifer Scheme.

The city is also in the planning phase for a permanent desalination plant, which is provisionally scheduled for completion in 2026/27. The cost of a permanent desalination plant – which will produce approximately 50 million litres per day – is currently estimated at around R1.8 billion.

According to Plato, the temporary desalination plants constructed during the drought provided valuable handson experience in producing desalinated water. This has built confidence that desalination is a viable way of reliably producing good-quality drinking water and will assist in working towards larger-scale desalination projects.

In addition, the CoCT is working towards the implementation of a large-scale water reuse scheme by 2026 and continues to clear alien vegetation in its catchment areas. These efforts, along with the other projects in the New Water Programme, are designed to create a scenario in which high-level water restrictions, such as those recently experienced, should not be required again in the near future. “Our Water Strategy commits the city to not only becoming water resilient, but also to provide a service for all that includes improving water and sanitation services in informal settlements, and to transform our relationship with water, by becoming a water-sensitive city,” says Alderman Xanthea Limberg, MMC: Water and Waste, CoCT.

People collected natural spring water in Newlands during the drought

Cape Town is also working towards becoming the first African member of the Leading Utilities of the World – a network of the world's most forward-thinking water and wastewater utilities. The objective of the initiative is to create a global network of the world’s most successful and innovative water and wastewater utilities, to help drive performance across the sector by recognising achievement, providing a network for sharing ideas, and inspiring others to improve.

“We are confident that the city’s innovations in this sector to date place us in a position to start building a case for entry,” says Limberg.

The Theewaterkloof Dam suffered extremely low water levels during the drought