The City of Cape Town is in the process of evaluating tenders for the extraction of water from the Table Mountain Group Aquifer (TMGA).
Speaking during an address to businesses at Greencape on Tuesday 9 May, mayor Patricia De Lille and head of the water and sanitation department, Peter Flower, said this is in addition to plans for two desalination plants along the West Coast.
De Lille explained as the city was experiencing the worst drought in 100 years, officials were working hard on the municipality’s 30-year water plan. De Lille says as Level 4 water restrictions loom, Capetonians needed to collectively play their part in saving every drop.
According to the most recent statement, the City says dam levels are now at 22% which is 0.7% down from a week ago. “With the last 10% of a dam’s water mostly not being usable, dam levels are effectively at 12%. The latest consumption has jumped up again to 720 million litres, which is 120 million litres over the consumption target of 600 million litres,” the statement says.
Among some of the City’s emergency water schemes is the emergency drilling of boreholes into the TMGA, with a yield of approximately 2 million litres of water per day. De Lille says the exploratory phase of a pilot project for the extraction of water from the TMGA is expected to commence by the end of June this year. According to Flower’s presentation, this is set to cost the municipality R85m.
De Lille also commented on the plans for a small scale desalination plant on the site of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station (KNPS).
“With desalination you need a lot of electricity and energy. And if we need to produce more water from desalination, unfortunately we would have to push the cost onto the consumer. It will cost us R9 per litre to produce water from desalination. From the small scale plant we can get about two million litres per day.”
Earlier this year, Eskom revealed they were in talks with the City regarding the desalination plant. Power station manager, Velaphi Ntuli, explained this was in addition to Eskom’s plans to also install a desalination plant on the Koeberg site.
At the time, Mayco member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy, Xanthea Limberg, said this is a pilot plant with the ability to feed the bulk water distribution system.
“Depending on the results and the water needs, the plant may be upgraded or relocated. Two locations are currently being considered, along Cape Town’s north-western coastline,” she said.
According to Flower’s presentation, the City is also considering another desalination plant closer to Atlantis.
