Site preparation for the Monwabisi desalination plant has kicked off in Cape Town as the City prepares projects to bring additional water supply online to combat the unprecedented drought.

The Monwabisi desalination plant is one of seven projects earmarked for development in the first phase of the City’s Additional Water Supply Programme.

Xanthea Limberg, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy says they anticipate that the Monwabisi plant will produce a total of 7 million litres of drinking water per day which will be fed into the water reticulation system to supplement current supply from the dams and other water sources.

Nine-week construction period

“A nine-week construction period is planned for the completion of the first phase comprising two million litres. The first drinking water generated by the desalination plant is expected to be fed into the reticulation system by March 2018 with the second phase of 5 million litres to follow on after a further nine weeks,” she explains.

According to Limberg the plant will operate for a period of two years, based on a service agreement in which the City has agreed to buy water from the service provider, Water Solutions Proxa JV. “The value of the tenders for the establishment and operation of the desalination plant at Monwabisi for a period of 24 months is R260 million.”

More projects in the pipeline

The City of Cape Town’s seven projects include the Monwabisi, Strandfontein, V&A Waterfront, and the Cape Town Harbour desalination plants, the Atlantis and Cape Flats Aquifer projects, and the Zandvliet water recycling project which will collectively produce an additional 196 million litres per day between February and July 2018.

In addition, the City has 12 projects at an advanced planning stage.