Cape Town – Desalination plants have been mooted as a permanent solution as the City, working with the Water Research Commission (WRC), has established a panel of experts to assist in looking at Cape Town’s future water supply.
The City’s plan for desalination plants came under fire last year, with civil organisations labelling temporary plants that were dismantled in the past years as wasteful expenditure as it “never contributed meaningfully to add additional water to the City reticulation system”.
The Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) that will advise on the technical, scientific, socio-economic and regulatory aspects of desalination has already been launched and is expected to sit until June 30 next year.
It consists of 12 well-recognised professionals including scientists and engineers.
The IAP will review all the documentation, such as the feasibility studies and reports associated with the implementation, and consider stakeholder or public comments.
“The City has been investing into our New Water Programme so we can build our water resilience to navigate unpredictable climate change effects.
“It is vital to become less dependent on rain-fed dams so we are also investing in supply from various water sources such as groundwater, permanent desalination and reuse,” said water and sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien.
Badroodien said as part of this long-term process, they were looking forward to the value the IAP would bring.
“The work of the panel on supporting the implementation of the Permanent Seawater Desalination Plant will be independently managed by the WRC with regular reporting to the City.”
Cape Times