Water Reuse for Cape Town: Investing in Resilience to Avoid Another “Day Zero”

Recycling wastewater effluent directly into drinking water is an innovative way of increasing water supply and contributes to water resilience in cities by mitigating the impact of droughts, climate variability, population growth, and increasing demand on conventional water supplies. Despite its adaptive capacity, direct potable reuse is not widely accepted due to various physical and social barriers, including local public perceptions and trust in government institutions. The City of Cape Town, South Africa, is planning to add reclaimed water to its supply portfolio in the aftermath of the 2018 “Day Zero” water crisis; however, numerous barriers exist for this goal to be realized by the target date of 2028. This paper uses a review of empirical studies on water reuse from across the globe and recent gray literature from Cape Town water managers to analyse the barriers and opportunities for direct potable reuse in Cape Town. We conclude the City is well advanced in its technological appropriateness, development of regulatory policy, and achieving public acceptance of water reuse, but will need to solidify a financial framework that structures acceptable tariffs for both cost recovery and fulfillment of their mandate of Free Basic Water. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Water, Health, and Sanitation Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Rights to Water