THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN: Progressive Interventions for Meeting Growing Water Needs

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THE CITY OF CAPE TOWNProgressive Interventions
for Meeting Growing Water Needs

• Ola Busari, PhD
• Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
• Midrand, South Africa
• 2nd Annual Mega-City Water Forum
• Atlanta, USA 14-16 May 2007

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Acknowledgement City of Cape Town Documents

• Integrated Development Plan (IDP),
• 2007/08 2011/12
• 5-Year Plan for the City of Cape Town,
• Draft, March 2007.
• Water Services Development Plan (WSDP),
• 2006/07
• 5-Year Sector Business Plan for the City of Cape
  Town, February 2006.
• Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change in the
  City of Cape Town
• Prepared for the City by P Mukheibir G
  Ziervogel, September 2006.

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Outline of Talk

• City Location, Features Attraction
• Demography, Economic Growth Services
• Water Services Profile
• Water Demand-Supply Dynamics
• Existing Water Resources
• Resource Vulnerability Storage Fluctuations
• Resource Options for the Future
• Sustainable Services Other Critical Issues

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City of Cape Town Location Map
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City Location, Features Attraction

• Located at the south-western tip of South Africa.
• Total land area of about 2 500 sq km 370 km long
  coastline.
• Varying topography, including flat plains, hills
  and mountains, with the Table Mountain popular
  tourist attraction over 1000 m elevation.
• Renowned for spectacular events the Argus Cycle
  Tour, the Two Oceans Marathon, the North Sea Jazz
  Festival
• Named the worlds Most Hospitable City by Conde
  Nast in 2002, having previously voted it the
  worlds Best Value-for-Money City.
• Currently adjudged the Cleanest City in South
  Africa by the national Department of
  Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
• Unique and significant biodiversity occurs
  side-by-side with historical, cultural and
  heritage diversity, but City is part of a water
  scarce region
• Much of the rain, averaging just over 500mm per
  annum, falls during the winter months May-August
  Mean annual temperature is about 17oC.
• Paradoxically, water demands are highest during
  the hot and dry summer months, calling for
  optimal water storage in the preceding winter
  months.
• Over the years, such demands have been
  complicated by unanticipated urban sprawl,
  leading to poorly coordinated responses in terms
  of public infrastructure investment.

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Demography Economic Growth

• Population 3.2 million, growing at 2.5 pa, and
  accounting for nearly two-thirds of the
  population of the WC Province.
• Rapid growth in black population since mid-1980s,
  with the lifting of influx control, pushing up
  growth to a high 4.4 during 1991-1996.
• The City estimates that 48 000 POOR people move
  into Cape Town each year, mostly in informal
  settlements along the citys periphery strain on
  bulk and link infrastructure.
• Of about 850 000 households in the City, 115 000
  are make-shift structures in informal
  settlements.
• Over the last 10 yrs housing backlog doubled,
  drug-related crime tripled, HIV prevalence
  tenfold unemployment doubled, in spite of a
  robust economic growth, currently at about 4 pa.

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Unemployment Growth in GGP
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Services Trends
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Water Services Profile
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Water Services Challenges

• Of 115 000 hhds in informal settlements, 30 000
  (26) have no access to basic water water-points
  shared by lt25 hhds at distance lt200 m.
• 73 000 hhds (63) have no access to basic
  sanitation shared toilet, at a ratio of lt5 hhds
  per toilet, with hygiene and health education.
• Service hindered by uncontrolled mushrooming
  expansion of existing settlements on unprepared
  land, and high dwelling densities (about 140
  units/hectare), with problems of accessibility.
• Water sanitation in informal settings are
  provided free of charge, since monthly water
  consumption is lt6 kl/hhd.
• Formal dwellings have a metered house connection
  or yard toilet with water tap, and the first 6
  kl/month is also free.

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Water Demand-Supply Dynamics

• The City reports a 3-4 growth rate in total bulk
  water supplied during the period 1973-2000.
• During the year 2004/05, total water supplied was
  263 Mm3 or 721 Mega-litres/day, including losses.
• In view of growth in population development, it
  was estimated, in 1998/9, that potential annual
  increase in unconstrained demand would range
  between 2.7-3.7.
• Managing demand was critical Since 2000/01, the
  City has managed to remain below the targeted low
  demand curve marked by max 2 growth pa, reducing
  actual demand by 20 from unconstrained levels.
• With WDM progress was an approval to construct a
  126 Mm3 Dam on the Berg River to increase
  regional supply by 18 once commissioned in 2007,
  providing assurance of supply until about 2013.

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Demand-Supply Dynamics contd
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Key Aspects of Citys WDM Strategy

• Minimizing network and commercial losses.
• Reducing low-income household leaks.
• Controlling Council consumption.
• Ensuring equitable tariffs.
• Ensuring new developments are water-wise.
• Implementing capacity building programmes.
• Promoting alternative technologies and launching
  water-saving campaigns.
• Fostering a supportive environment for long-term
  water conservation and demand management.

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Existing Water Resources

• Regional water requirements are met mainly from
  surface sources, accounting for 97 of about 450
  Mm3 annual yield.
• Groundwater yield, though only 7 Mm3 pa, does not
  include the unknown amounts abstracted from
  private boreholes.
• Most supply to larger Cape Town area comes from
  WCape Water Supply System Theewaterskloof,
  Voelvlei, Wemmershoek and Steenbras upper lower
  dams.
• First two dams account for over two-thirds of the
  Citys supply, and are operated by the national
  water department.
• Dams controlled by the City account for only a
  quarter of its raw water requirements.
• Only about 15 of raw water requirements are
  obtained from sources within the city
  metropolitan area.
• City notes the possible effect of climate change
  recently commissioned an adaptation framework,
  but plans that potential long-term impact be
  explored by system-wide modeling.

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Existing WR surface water
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Resource Vulnerability Storage Fluctuations

• The City is familiar with the stress climate
  variability could bring to dam levels and water
  management.
• The Southern Africa region has witnessed
  extensive droughts during 1991/92, 2000/01 and
  2004/05, and further variability is expected to
  alter the hydrologic regime.
• Year 2005 recorded the lowest storage levels in
  the WCape system in 5 years, although levels
  picked up again last year.
• While past experiences suggest that current
  mechanisms appear adequate to address
  intermittent shortages in future, serious climate
  change impacts may call for more robust
  strategies.

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Storage levels WCW system (2001-06 01 May)
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Resource Options for the Future

• Key strategy is to reduce dependence on surface
  sources to minimize climate-induced variation,
  targeting prolific aquifers, effluent reuse and
  desalination.
• Table Mountain Group holds good groundwater
  potential, although investigations still need to
  establish optimal recharge rates and sustainable
  yields over the long-term.
• City intends to improve the level of effluent
  reuse beyond its currently under 10, but efforts
  need to incentivize industries to recycle
  wastewater as well as the reuse of grey water at
  household level.
• The viability of desalination has improved
  significantly, as unit cost dropped with
  technology improvements, but energy requirements
  remain a serious challenge.
• The use of rainwater harvesters is little
  explored, but could be encouraged in both
  commercial and residential buildings, for
  non-drinking purposes.

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Sustainable Services Critical Issues

• Managing water losses Current figures are
  difficult to obtain, but unaccounted-for-water
  reported as 18 in 2001/02 and 23 in 2004/05
  certainly a cause for concern.
• Managing infrastructure City admits that
  infrastructure maintenance is irregular, even
  though an Asset Care Centre was established in
  2004 and an asset management strategy is in
  place.
• Managing operational performance Addressing
  operational and financial performance requires
  attention to current institutional arrangements,
  to enable a ring-fenced water services provider
  function.

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!THANK YOU!