Council has approved the Water and Sanitation Directorate's agreement with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to continue joint efforts and funding to clear alien invasive plants from major catchments, adding billions of litres of water annually back to Cape Town's water supply. This work remains a vital part of actioning our New Water Programme to build Cape Town’s water future in the face of climate change and unpredictable rainfall.

Since entering their partnership in 2016, TNC and the City of Cape Town, along with other stakeholders, have engaged in activities to improve water security, restore ecological infrastructure, enhance biodiversity and reduce wildfire risk within strategic water source areas by establishing the Greater Cape Town Water Fund (GCTWF) in 2018.

In August 2026, Council resolved to continue this partnership until 2028/29.

Among the water conservation activities is the clearing of alien invasive plants, which absorb rainwater in the mountain catchments before it can reach the dams below. 

The partnership in numbers:

• By removing water hungry invasive plants, the partnership is estimated to increase the amount of water that flows into the dams of the Western Cape Water Supply System by approximately 20 billion litres per year (55 million litres per day). 
• Over 1 714 green job opportunities were created. Of these jobs, 46% are occupied by women and 23% by youth (18–25 years).

‘Invasive alien plants are water thirsty and will suck up the rainwater before it reaches the dams. 

‘The statistics emphasise the importance of the work being done by showing just how much water we'd be losing without it. This continued partnership is one of the directorate's key components being implemented as part of our New Water Programme to bring 300 million litres of water online and secure Cape Town's water future. In the face of unpredictable rainfall, every action counts because every drop counts. We all have a part to play to protect our precious water supply,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Alderman Zahid Badroodien.

About the GCTWF

The GCTWF is a public-private partnership programme, that brings together government, business, communities and conservation partners, to harness the power of nature to improve Cape Town’s water security.  

Captions: Alien invasive plant clearing activities undertaken through the Greater Cape Town Water Fund across the Steenbras and Theewaterskloof catchment areas.