Cape Town - While plans are moving ahead for a permanent desalination plant in the City, its cost has come under scrutiny as residents still pay a “pipe levy”, civic activist group Stop COCT said.
The City confirmed that a permanent desalination plant was still in the planning phase and was provisionally scheduled for completion in early 2030.
Stop CoCT founder, Sandra Dickson, said the temporary plants at Monwabisi and Strandfontein - which jointly cost about R500 million - had been dismantled last year after being decommissioned during 2020, and the V&A Waterfront plant was questioned from the start.
“During the height of the 2017 drought, the City of Cape Town awarded three tenders to two companies for desalination plants. From the outset the location of these plants was questioned by many, but the City steamed ahead with it.
“Soon after they were operational, there were issues with the quality of the water fed to these plants and it resulted in a court case around the Waterfront plant.
“After two years the plants were decommissioned as per the tender contracts.
“It is the opinion of STOP CoCT that this was wasteful expenditure by the City as these plants never contributed meaningfully to add additional water to the City of Cape Town reticulation system.
“The City’s on record that it was a ‘learning curve’. This was a learning curve that contributed to the exorbitant water tariffs and the ‘pipe levy’ which still has to be paid by ratepayers.
“The City point-blank refuses to do anything about (the levy) and continues to ignore all pleas by ratepayers to lower them or to increase the step of 6KL at the lower end of the water tariff structure,” said Dickson.
In a statement the City had said it was “undertaking an ambitious New Water Programme (NWP) to increase available water by an additional 300 million litres per day from alternative sources like desalination to ensure a reliable supply ahead of future droughts, which are predicted to be more severe and last longer”.
Water and Sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien said the V&A Waterfront temporary plant was decommissioned “following termination of the contract by the supplier mid 2019.
The matter is currently the subject of litigation”.
Badroodien said no drought levy was being charged to ratepayers as the levy was never approved.
“The City does have a fixed basic charge which forms part of the total tariff structure that is needed so the City can continue to provide reliable water services to Cape Town.
“Should the fixed basic charge be removed, the standard volumetric (usage) charge will need to be substantially increased.
“The fixed basic charge creates stability and reliability in the Water and Sanitation Directorates revenue forecast which is used to fund the directorates Capital Expenditure Programme,” said Badroodien.
The fixed basic charge is part of the total water tariff approved by Council and charges start at R75.26 per month for a 15mm connection while registered indigent households do not pay the fixed basic charge.
“The City is currently investing in its New Water Programme (NWP), which includes permanent desalination, as one of the water supplies.
“The NWP is designed to ensure that Cape Town’s water supply is diversified, resilient and able to navigate future droughts,” said Badroodien.
Cape Times