The City of Cape Town, alongside industry leaders and experts, recently hosted an Energy Water Waste Forum (EWWF) event focusing on the New Water Programme (NWP) and, more specifically, implementation of desalination in Cape Town. As part of ongoing direct engagement with stakeholders, discussions centred around the growing need to augment the City’s drinking water supply with alternative sources in order to build resilience and security against seasonal droughts.
The City is currently in the feasibility study stage of its first permanent desalination plant, planned for the Paarden Eiland area. Desalination is a scientific process of removing salts from sea water, then processing it further to make it suitable and safe for human consumption.
The combination of initiatives, including desalination, water re-use, clearing of invasive plant species and groundwater schemes, make up the NWP. This is part of the City’s 2030 strategy to increase drinking water supply by 300 million litres a day.
The planned permanent desalination plant is expected to produce between 50 and 70 million litres of water per day.
‘Cape Town has already allocated the largest CAPEX budget to Water and Sanitation, making us one of the leading infrastructure investors in the country. We are future-proofing our city by investing in infrastructure at a rate far outpacing any other metro, in fact over the next three years, we will invest R43bn, which is more than Joburg and Durban combined.
‘Water and Sanitation investment now makes up 42% of Cape Town’s R120 billion 10-year infrastructure pipeline. We are determined to see the New Water Programme through, ensuring that our city remains resilient and ready for the challenges ahead,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
At the EWWF event, Councillor Badroodien delivered the keynote address, highlighting the importance of open conversations with the public to build trust. He also informed participants of the City’s drive to create more platforms where concerns could be addressed well ahead of implementation.
Industry experts presented on other relevant topics including innovation in desalination technology and a guide to water resilience.
‘Desalination is a critical part of the City’s action plan to provide for increased demand for drinking water into the future, taking into consideration the threat of climate shocks and drought. Water and Sanitation teams are working hard to ensure that water provision is sustainable and that the implementation of desalination benefits Cape Town residents and businesses,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
For more information about the progress of the City’s NWP, download the City’s Water Outlook report: https://bit.ly/4eA6PSb
