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Environment
Water reuse and desalination advisory
Agenda #18August 20, 2026
Summary
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The Council will consider the awarding of contract DP8456R/2023/24 for the provision of technical advisory, assurance and research services to support implementation of water reuse and desalination programmes, via an agreement with the Water Research Commission.
Cape Town's Water Strategy aims to diversify supply away from heavy reliance on rain-fed dams. It does this by adding groundwater, water reuse and desalination, with the goal of making the city more resilient to drought and climate change. The strategy grew out of the 2017–2018 "Day Zero" drought. During that drought, dam levels fell so low that the city came close to shutting off most taps. The city's New Water Programme has since planned to add supply from several sources. These include the Table Mountain Group Aquifer, the Cape Flats Aquifer, the Atlantis Aquifer, treated wastewater reuse and seawater desalination. Planned reuse and desalination projects include a reuse scheme at Zandvliet and a desalination plant at Monwabisi. Both are large, capital-intensive schemes with long lead times.
Water reuse means treating wastewater to a standard that is safe for drinking or non-potable use. Desalination removes salt from seawater using processes such as reverse osmosis. Both are technically complex. They need rigorous water-quality assurance, energy planning, brine management, environmental authorisations and public acceptance. This is why independent technical advice and research support matter.
The Water Research Commission (WRC) is a South African public entity. It is established under the Water Research Act and funds and conducts water-sector research. Appointing it through an agreement, rather than an open market tender, would be a public-sector partnership. The contract number DP8456R/2023/24 indicates that it originated in the 2023/24 procurement cycle. The decision matters to ratepayers because these programmes involve substantial public spending. It also matters for water security, since Cape Town's rapid population growth and a more variable climate add pressure on the supply system.
I could not run a search here, so this background comes from general knowledge and not from current City of Cape Town documents. I haven't verified recent developments, such as project timelines, costs or the contract's value.
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