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By Marvin Charles 
13h ago
Cape Town – The city of Cape Town plans to build a permanent desalination plant, at a cost of R1.8 billion.
The city said it had already put its water strategy into practice as 15 million liters of groundwater had come online from the Table Mountain Group aquifer daily, while other projects including permanent desalination and water reuse were also planned.
Xanthea Limberg, Mayco member for water and waste services, said: “The temporary desalination plants at Strandfontein and Monwabisi were built as emergency water supplies at the height of the drought crisis.
“The City also gained valuable knowledge and experience that will be incorporated into the planning and operation of the largest planned permanent plant.”
It is tentatively scheduled to begin water production in late 2026, Limberg said.
“The fixed component of the rate covers approximately 20% to 25% of water costs. If it was eliminated, the consumption rate would have to be increased to compensate. There is no profit from the sale of water and the City strives to keep costs as low as possible, ”he said.
In September last year, it was reported that the City was looking to build another desalination plant to be waterproof by 2026. The City is considering the development and commissioning of a permanent desalination plant with a capacity of 50 million liters per day by 2026.
In response to the drought, the Strandfontein, Monwabisi and V&A desalination plants were commissioned for a two-year period as part of the City’s Water Resilience Plan, now known as the New Water Plan. From these plants a combined total of 14 million liters per day was supplied.
The City has maintained that the fixed charge contributes to the fixed costs to operate the water and sanitation service and that there are fixed charges for basic public services in municipalities throughout the country.
UCT Future Water Research Institute Acting Director Kirsty Carden said the need for a permanent desalination plant would depend on how demand for water in the city changed over time.
“The ‘Zero Day’ crisis highlighted the fragility of a water system that depends mainly on one source (surface rainwater storage) and the need to diversify the city’s water resources, to include groundwater, seawater desalinated, treated wastewater and rainwater harvesting as a means of building resilience.
“Permanent desalination will likely need to be included in this set of planning options at some point. Through its New Water Strategy, as well as the Resilience Strategy, the City has already recognized that a different approach to managing water resources is needed to build a water-sensitive city. “
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