V&A donates site for desalination

30 October 2017 - 08:56 By Aron Hyman
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SEA CHANGECape Town mayor Patricia de Lille looks at development plans for a modular land-based desalination plant with David Green, CEO of the V&A WaterfrontPicture : David Harrison
SEA CHANGECape Town mayor Patricia de Lille looks at development plans for a modular land-based desalination plant with David Green, CEO of the V&A WaterfrontPicture : David Harrison

The V&A Waterfront was hailed by mayor Patricia De Lille as a "good example" after it was announced that it would provide the land for a new desalination plant, for free.

De Lille, who visited the plant on Sunday, said the "modular land-based plant", which will produce 2 million litres per day, will be operational by February.

The mayor has vowed to "not allow a well-run city to run out of water" and plans are in place to tap into other sources of water including from springs and aquifers in the mountains surrounding the city.

The plant will be built on an open-air parking lot near Cape Town harbour's East Pier and will be one of a network of eight desalination plants spread across the city.

The plants, which together will provide 108 million litres of water per day, are:

  • Hout Bay, 4 million litres per day
  • Granger Bay, 8 million litres
  • Red Hill/Dido Valley, 2 million litres
  • Strandfontein, 7 million litres
  • Monwabisi, 7 million litres
  • Harmony Park, 8 million litres
  • Cape Town Harbour, 50 million litres
  • Universal sites, 20 million litres

"My message is clear: We have a plan, we will supply water but Capetonians, your help is vital and so we need you to keep saving water," said De Lille.

She said that Cape Town had managed to bring down water consumption from pre-restriction levels of 1,1 billions litres a day to 585 million litres currently.

"The V&A Waterfront made land available to the city at no cost. This is a good example how government and business can work together to ensure our water resilience," De Lille said.

The plant will abstract water from the sea on the harbour side of the pier and, using electricity provided by the city, pump treated clean water into the city's water network.

"The location of the site makes it easy for the city to provide services to the desalination plant. The city will provide electricity in November and construction will start soon after," De Lille said.

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