Water and Sanitation’s Budget of Hope unpacked

03 July 2025

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate has secured a budget provision of R4,9 billion for the 2025/2026 financial year, which officially began on 1 July 2025. This budget provision will enable the directorate to continue building Cape Town’s water-resilient future by upgrading water and sanitation infrastructure, ensuring ongoing access to quality drinking water, addressing sewer overflows and delivering adequate sanitation in informal settlements, among other priorities.

Following the announcement of the City’s Invested in Hope Budget for the 2025/26 financial year on 26 June 2025 by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is gearing up towards continuous water and sanitation investments across Cape Town.

‘We are committed to ensuring our communities have dignified access to basic services by reducing sewer overflows and accelerating the replacement of water and sewer pipes. Investing in water and sanitation infrastructure to benefit our residents is non-negotiable for the City of Cape Town. We remain dedicated to providing reliable services while also investing in infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing city.’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.

The 2025/2026 Water and Sanitation budget is as follows:

Informal Settlements
R39,1 million will be invested in Informal Settlements on new taps and toilets in addition to services already provided.

New Water Programme (NWP)
R492 million will be invested in the New Water Programme (NWP). The NWP is our commitment to all our residents to ensure our taps never run dry. Surface water currently makes up approximately 98% of our drinking water, but by 2040 we expect groundwater, desalination and water reuse to account for a full 25% of the City’s water supply.

This is in addition to the removal of alien invasive plant species in our catchment areas.

In line with our water strategy, we are making these investments in groundwater development:

Cape Flats Aquifer - R443 million - at Hanover Park, Strandfontein North and Philippi, ensuring sustainable and responsible groundwater management.
Atlantis Managed Aquifer Recharge - R25 million - to upgrade the Managed Aquifer Recharge, securing the long-term water future for the western region of our city.

Wastewater Treatment Works
R1,81 billion (the largest component of the investment) towards the expansion and upgrades of wastewater treatment works across the city. Major allocations include:

Potsdam extension - R895 million - a project that will increase the plant's capacity from treating 47 million litres of wastewater to 100 million litres per day. This massive expansion will accommodate growth and ensure high standards of wastewater treatment.
Macassar extension - R463 million – increase the plant’s capacity from 34 Ml/d to 80 Ml/d, new process units and process upgrade, demonstrating our commitment to accommodating development while maintaining environmental standards.
Wesfleur aeration and blower replacement - R151 million - ensuring this award-winning facility continues operating at peak efficiency.
Marine outfalls upgrades - R40 million
Wildevoëlvlei dewatering upgrades - R150 million
Bellville process upgrade - R30 million
Athlone capacity extension phase 1 - R15 million

Sewer network infrastructure
R1,25 billion will be spent to conduct proactive work to upgrade our sanitation network and pump station infrastructure across the city:

City-wide sewer pipe replacements - R355 million - to address ageing pipes and reduce sewer overflows.
Pump station upgrades – R241 million
Cape Flats Bulk Sewer rehabilitation - R190 million - to ensure proper bulk reticulation that protects the health of residents and environment.
Trappies sewer rehabilitation - R120 million
Milnerton Bulk Sewer project - R117 million – as part of our investments to turn around the health of the Milnerton Lagoon.
Gordons Bay Sewer rising main – R67 million

Water network infrastructure
A total of R259 million to continue replacing ageing water infrastructure throughout the city:

City-wide water network replacement - R239 million - to address ageing pipes and reduce pipe bursts.
Reservoir upgrades and water projects - R5 million – This includes: the upgrade and repairs of infrastructure at existing water reservoir sites.
Hout Bay water supply system improvements - R3 million

Rivers and waterways

R31 million towards the Liveable Urban Waterways for the Keysers, Grootboschkloof, Westlake, Sand/Langevlei, Vygekraal and Manenberg waterways.
Sir Lowry's Pass River upgrade - R102 million
Flood Alleviation River upgrade programme – R2 million - protecting communities around Macassar and Strand from increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Caption 1: R102 million will be invested towards the Sir Lowry’s River Upgrade project currently underway in Gordon’s Bay.

Caption 2: R355 million will be invested towards city-wide Sewer Pipe replacement projects.

Caption 3: R895 million will be invested in the major upgrade of the Potsdam WWTW.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office