Treated effluent irrigation to save millions of water litres at 120 recreation facilities
04 February 2025
An estimated 2,5 million litres to 3,5 million litres of drinking water will be saved daily, as treated effluent connections are commissioned at a number of City Recreation and Parks facilities for irrigation across Cape Town.
Using treated effluent for irrigation and industrial purposes is an excellent way to help conserve Cape Town’s water supply, and to save on costs.
Treated effluent is wastewater that has been purified at a wastewater treatment works, where contaminants are removed before it is safely reused for irrigation and industrial purposes.
With a pipeline network extending almost 283km, treated effluent is being supplied from nine City wastewater treatment plants: Athlone, Bellville, Cape Flats, Kraaifontein, Macassar, Potsdam, Scottsdene, Zandvliet and Melkbosstrand.
‘The City will invest R65 million towards increasing treated effluent infrastructure, during the 2024/2025 financial year. That includes the upgrade of Bellville pump station and the pipeline to supply to Kuils River, the new Scottsdene pump station and Phase1 of its pipeline, and the new Zandvliet pump station. These projects are planned for completion during the next financial year,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien. As part of the ongoing roll-out, the Recreation and Parks Department, in collaboration with the Water and Sanitation Directorate, entered into a formal agreement to switch to using treated effluent for irrigation of City-owned sportsfields and other recreation facilities. There are now 120 facilities connected to the treated effluent supply system, with more earmarked to be added to offset the use of drinking water.
In October 2024, treated effluent supply to Chukker Road Sportsfield (Phase A), Wens Road Park, City Park (private sportsfield), William Herbert Sportsfield, Brochurst Park and Bellville Compost Plant was activated.
Construction works are under way to supply treated effluent for irrigation to Athlone Cricket Field (fields 1 and 2), Wynberg Sports Ground, Rylands Sports Complex and Chukker Road Sportsfield by the end of this financial year.
‘As the City drives initiatives for infrastructural development which support our vision of becoming a water-resilient city, we encourage more private business and industries to take up this win-win opportunity. Treated effluent costs much less and you can help to conserve valuable drinking water when making the switch, for the purposes of irrigation or industrial processes,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
Treated effluent is available at R7,62 per kiloliter (kl) for golf clubs, schools, and Recreation and Parks facilities, and R8,71 per kl for commercial and industrial users. This is a fraction of potable water tariff, currently R35,07 per kl for commercial, industrial, and educational institutions.To apply for a treated effluent supply and for more information, email:
Treated.Effluent@capetown.gov.za or visit
bit.ly/4aqmH9k.
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Published by:
Media Office, City of Cape Town
