Water Services Development Plan
Chapter 2
Setting the Scene
of
City of Cape Town
Status: Comprehensive WSDP
www.capetown.gov.za/water/wsdp
December 2001
WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...........................................................1
LIST OF TABLES .......................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................2
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................3
CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................4
2
SETTING THE SCENE........................................................5
2.1 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA SERVED ...................................................... 5
2.2 POLITICAL CONTEXT OF EXISTING WATER AND WASTEWATER SUPPLY
SITUATION........................................................................................................................... 6
WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Locality Plan......................................................................................................... 8
Figure 2.2 Changes in Administrative Boundaries ......................................................... 9
WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
List of Abbreviations
AADD
AFU
CCT
CFA
CMA
CMC
DM
DWAF
EIA
GLS
I&AP
IDP
IMEP
IWRP
MCDA
MNF
MLC
PNE
PDG
UAW
URV
WC
VIP
WDM
WSDP
WTW
WWTW
Annual Average daily demand
Automatic Flushing Urinal
City of Cape Town
Cape Flats Aquifer
Cape Metropolitan Area
Cape Metropolitan Council
Demand Management
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Environmental Impact Assessment
Geustyn Loubser Streicher Inc
Interested and Affected Party
Integrated Development Plan
Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy
Integrated Water Resource Planning
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
Minimum Night Flow
Metropolitan Local Council
Protected Natural Environment
Palmer Development Group
Unaccounted For Water
Unit Reference Value
Water Conservation
Ventilated Improved Pit Latrine
Water Demand Management
Water Services Development Plan
Water Treatment Works
Wastewater Treatment Works
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WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
Chapter 2
Setting the Scene
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WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
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2 Setting the Scene
Issues:
• Impact of new municipal boundaries (16 sub councils) on water services
2.1 Physical Description of the area served
The CCT is located in the Western Cape Province on the southeastern corner of
South Africa as indicated on Figure 2.1. The total area is approximately
2474 km2 and its coastline is 371 km long.
The area consists of varying topography which includes flat plains, hills and
mountains. High mountains are located fairly close to the sea; e.g. Table
Mountain which exceeds 1 000 m in elevation. Other high mountains on the
perimeter include the Hottentots-Holland, Helderberg, Stellenbosch,
Jonkershoek, Franschhoek, Wemmershoek, Du Toits, Paarl, Slanghoek, Limiet
and Elandskloof mountains. These mountains form an eastern perimeter of
mountains around the CCT.
A major portion of the CCT consists of the area known as the Cape Flats, which
has an elevation of between 20 and 45 m above sea level. Significant portions of
the Administrations of Tygerberg, Helderberg, Cape Town and South Peninsula,
are located on The Cape Flats. These areas are relatively low-lying and can be
supplied from a portion of the bulk supply network which is linked to large
reservoirs with top water levels at 110 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The
mountainside developments in Helderberg, Cape Town and South Peninsula, the
hilly development in the north of Oostenberg and Tygerberg, and the Atlantis
area in the north of Blaauwberg are at elevations which are too high to be
supplied from the 110 m a.s.l. reservoirs. Very few areas with water demand are
located at elevations higher than 200 m asl.
The rivers in the CCT are relatively small. Some rivers worth mentioning are the
Salt-, the Diep-, the Black-, the Eerste-, Kuils-, Moddergat- and Lourens rivers.
The rivers which are utilised as water sources lie mostly outside of the CCT.
These are the Berg- (including its Wolwekloof and Banhoek tributaries),
Sonderend-, Eerste-, Palmiet-, Klein Berg- and Leeu rivers. Of these, the Berg
river which flows in a northerly and later westerly direction, is by far the
largest.
The major dams from which the CCT is supplied are situated outside (except for
the Steenbras Upper and the Steenbras Lower Dams) the mountainous eastern
perimeter of the area. The Theewaterskloof dam near Villiersdorp is the major
water source of the CCT and forms part of a large inter-basin water transfer
scheme that regulates the flow from the Sonderend-, Berg- and Eerste rivers.
The Voëlvlei dam is the furthest north near Gouda and relies on diversion works
WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
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in the Klein Berg, Leeu and 24 rivers for its water supply. The Wemmershoek
dam is situated in the mountains near Franschhoek and is supplied from various
small rivers in the Wemmershoek mountains (e.g. Tierkloof- and Olifants rivers).
The Steenbras Upper dam and Steenbras Lower dam are situated in the
Hottentots-Holland mountain range near Gordon’s Bay, and serve a dual purpose
of providing an upper reservoir for the Steenbras Pumped Storage Scheme and
for supplying water for domestic/industrial use to the CMA. Other smaller dams
include the dams on Table Mountain (Woodhead, De Villiers, Hely Hutchinson,
Victoria and Alexandra) which are used to supply water to Cape Town and South
Peninsula, and the dams at Simons Town (Kleinplaas and Lewis Gay) which provide
water to South Peninsula.
Cape Town has a mean annual rainfall of 515mm/annum and an average
temperature of 16.7 °C. The CMA is a winter rainfall area. The meteorological
depressions that typically bring rain to this area during winter move past to the
south of the area (and the land mass) during summer; resulting in long dry spells.
It is during the dry summer that the water demands are highest, due to the
higher temperatures and the fact that watering of gardens is the norm in almost
all residential areas. This contrast complicates the management of a bulk water
supply system, as sufficient run-off needs to be stored during winter in order to
meet the increased water demand in the hot and dry summer months.
Further information on the physical attributes of the area, the history, main
features and attractions are presented on the CCT’s website at:
http://www.cmc.gov.za/history.htm. GO TO
2.2 Political Context of Existing Water and Wastewater Supply
Situation
The CCT, like the rest of South Africa, has undergone some significant changes
in political structure over the last decade. Prior to 1994, the area consisted of a
large number of smaller municipalities, or councils. The dominant municipality
was the Cape Town City Council (CCC), which at the time also owned and operated
the bulk water supply system. Outside of the CCC area, the bulk supply system
and the secondary distribution systems of the various municipalities were
separated, with metered bulk off-takes used by the CCC for billing purposes.
Within the CCC area however, the bulk- and secondary systems were integrated,
since all the consumers were billed directly by the CCC.
WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
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With the political changes in 1994, the smaller municipalities in the CMA were
amalgamated into 6 Metropolitan Local Councils (MLC’s), with the Cape
Metropolitan Council (CMC) as a regional local authority in charge of bulk
services, such as the bulk water supply system (refer to Figure 2.2). This
prompted a separation of the bulk- and secondary systems in the old CCC area.
In December 2000, the unified CCT was formed, by the amalgamation of the six
former MLC’s and the former CMC. The organizational and management
structure of the CCT is currently in transformation, but in the meantime the six
former MLC’s are being managed as Administrative Units within the City of Cape
Town, with the CMC still active as the administrative unit in charge of bulk
services.
The relationship of a regional authority CMC selling water to MLC’s does not
exist now in the CCT. The CMC Administration of the CCT now operates the bulk
water supply system, and supplies water in bulk to the six Area Administrations,
who distribute the water to the end users. The Boland, West Coast and
Drakenstein Municipalities (incl the towns of Paarl, Wellington, Stellenbosch and
some of the surrounding farms) located outside the CCT area also purchase
water in bulk from the CCT.
Raw water is treated at water treatment plants which are operated by the CMC
Administration, from where it is distributed via a network of large diameter
pipelines and reservoirs to the six area administrations. The bulk networks are
operated by the CMC Administration up to the metered connection points of the
area administrations. Downstream of the meters, the secondary distribution
networks generally are operated by the area administrations.
A model of 16 new sub-councils has been proposed for the City of Cape Town
(refer to Figure 2.2). For the purposes of the WSDP, the former MLC
boundaries have only been applied insofar it effects the provision of water and
sanitation services.
WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
Figure 2.1 Locality Plan
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WATER SERVICES DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN
Figure 2.2 Changes in Administrative Boundaries
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