- The City of Cape Town has allocated an R18 billion budget for water and sanitation services in the 2024-2025 financial year.
- The plan includes significant investments in sewer upgrades, new water programmes, and infrastructure to ensure long-term water security.
- Communities in the northern suburbs will benefit from these upgrades, with projects focusing on preventing sewer overflows, upgrading pump stations, and expanding wastewater treatment plants.
Several communities in the northern suburbs of Cape Town are to benefit from City infrastructure plans to provide and maintain reliable water and sanitation services in Cape Town for today and years to come.
According to Mayco member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, the water and sanitation’s 2024-’25 total budget of R18 billion for the upcoming financial year speaks volumes. Of this, R5 billion is the capital budget and R13 billion the operating budget.
Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Delft, Bellville South, Bloubergstrand, Panorama, Parow and Table View are among those to benefit from a R1 billion project to prevent sewer overflows.
A total of R154 million was allocated to upgrade and refurbish sewer pump stations, and R385 million to replace 100 km of sewer pipes.
Along with that R38,25 million was allocated for new taps and toilets for informal settlements in addition to services already provided.
An estimated R2 billion is to be spent on extensions and upgrades at waste water treatment works over the next financial year, that include the Potsdam works upgrade and the final phase of refurbishment and treatment process upgrade of the Bellville works.
In addition, R127 million is allocated for generators and UPS installations for sewer and water pump stations, as well as wastewater treatment plants.
New water programmes
New water programmes planned include desalination, aquifer abstraction and the Faure recycled drinking water scheme.
Its construction is expected to start in financial year 2026-’2027 and the plant is expected to be commissioned in 2030. The planned Faure New Water Scheme is a purified recycled drinking water scheme that includes a new, advanced water purification plant that will supply drinking water to Cape Town.
“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 supply. This is in addition to the removal of alien invasive plant species in our catchment areas,” says Badroodien.
The City is set to increase supply by an extra 300 million litres of water from new water sources every day by 2030.
Moreover, R224 million is invested to replace 50 km of water pipes in Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Loevenstein, Tygerdal, Durbanville, Kuils River, Parow Valley and Bloubergstrand.
“As we go into a new financial year, these remain key priorities for the City; building a water secure future, delivering clean, reliable drinking water and dignified sanitation services to residents in Cape Town as well as reducing sewer overflows and improving treating wastewater so that we safeguard our environment and improve inland water quality,” says Badroodien.
