City digs deep to help build Cape Town’s water-resilient future
20 September 2023
Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien welcomed international and local guests, including but not limited to, hydrogeologists, geologists and engineers, to the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) 50th Congress. Having this conference on Cape Town’s doorstep gives the City an opportunity to showcase its own groundwater schemes on this global stage.
The congress started on Monday, 18 September 2023, with delegates visiting various City of Cape Town projects, including the Table Mountain Group Aquifer (TMGA), Steenbras Scheme, Atlantis Aquifer Water Resource Management Scheme (AWRMS) and Cape Flats Aquifer Management Scheme (CFAMS). It runs until Friday, 22 September 2023, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Hydrogeologists and engineers from the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will have the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion on Municipal groundwater supply.
Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien said the City has an incredible opportunity this week to share the progress of its groundwater schemes internationally.
These updates include:
TMGA:
- Drilling, equipping and commissioning of seven production boreholes at Steenbras Wellfield
- Completion of exploratory drilling at Nuweberg Wellfield
- Completion of exploratory drilling at Groenlandberg (Klipfontein) Wellfield
AWRMS:
- Completion of the drilling of production boreholes in Witzands Wellfield
- Upgrading of Witzands softening plant with new brine sump, bulk acid system and electrical and control system replacement
CFAMS:
- Commissioning of Strandfontein West Wellfield and Water Treatment Works under way
- Completion of production boreholes drilling at Hanover Park Wellfield
- Completion of Production boreholes Drilling at Strandfontein East/Mitchells Plain Wellfield
‘Work on the City’s groundwater programme is progressing well. This is a key component to diversify our water sources to help build Cape Town’s water-resilient future. The City is planning to invest about R4,7 billion into projects to bring about
105 million litres of groundwater online a day, to contribute to our drinking supply by 2036. This groundwater supply target from aquifers is part of the City's New Water Programme (NWP) and Water Strategy,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
Due to climate change, Cape Town has learnt that the City cannot solely rely on dams for water security in future. The investment in groundwater projects is vital, to help reduce Cape Town's dependence on rainfall and dam storage as our primary water supply, to navigate future climate shocks and droughts.
‘Overall, we are working towards increasing supply by an extra 300 million litres of new water everyday by 2030, including groundwater, desalination and water reuse. Each of the projects are at different stages of development. This is over and above the current interventions to ensure optimal water use and will assist in enabling Cape Town to become resilient to climate change,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
Monitoring Committees have also been set up for the City’s groundwater abstraction projects to monitor compliance with the water use licence and discuss progress at the Cape Flats Aquifer Management Scheme and the Table Mountain Group Aquifer scheme.
Published by:
Media Office, City of Cape Town
