Recognising its almost complete reliance on surface water sources and its vulnerability to climate change, the City of Cape Town has embarked on a new water programme that will increase its available supply and lead to the establishment of a new and unique independent advisory panel (IAP).

The city aims to increase available supply capacity by an additional 300-million litres of water a day through alternative means, such desalination, groundwater abstraction, managed aquifer recharge and direct potable water reuse.

The Water Research Commission (WRC), as part of the programme and on behalf of the city, has established an IAP comprising experts in fields related to water reuse to provide advice on the purification and reuse of treated wastewater for drinking purposes in Cape Town.

Water reuse is considered a low-hanging fruit as part of water conservation and water-use efficiency, as well as a viable solution for supplementing drinking-quality water supply, as growing populations and other influences, such as climate change, cause global water shortages and droughts in several parts of the world.

However, the reuse of treated wastewater is a “sensitive” subject, both domestically and internationally, with public trust and confidence in the local authority to implement water reuse safely critical in ensuring user acceptance.

This requires effective implementation oversight, high technology performance and reliability to ensure high water quality assurance, timeous and effective communication of information and decisions, as well as agility in addressing developing areas of concern and facilitating improvements in practice.

Accordingly, many governments have introduced stringent water reuse governance measures and programmes to ensure oversight and high assurance for the safe implementation of water reuse.

Many local authorities around the world are also passing laws specifying the establishment of an oversight body or an independent advisory expert panel.

The City of Cape Town aims to take a leading role in South Africa and regionally by adopting the practice of establishing an independent expert panel as a means of demonstrating its commitment to the implementation of a safe water reuse programme.

The main role of the IAP is to advise the local authorities on public health issues, as well as scientific and technical matters regarding the implementation of water reuse.

The IAP comprises 11 recognised academic and industry professionals with expertise and extensive experience in the implementation of water reuse schemes.

Seven members are local and regional experts, including Water Institute of Southern Africa water reuse division chairperson Dr Esper Ncube; University of Cape Town Future Water Institute lead researcher Dr Kevin Winter; Umgeni Water reuse demonstration plant lead process engineer Megan Schalkwyk; public health consultant Bettina Genthe; environmental and water governance consultant Carin Bosman; communications consultant Dr Sarah Slabbert; and Windhoek, Namibia, consultant Jurgen Menge.

Their international counterparts include Australia-based principal consultant Ian Law; Australia’s Griffith University School of Environment and Science Professor Frederic Leusch; Orange County, California, Groundwater Replenishment System chairperson and independent environmental engineering consultant Dr James Crook; and US-based water reuse/membrane technology consultant Troy Walker.

Initially, the established IAP will support the promotion of the transparent development of water reuse, through the implementation of the City of Cape Town’s proposed major reuse project, the Faure New Water Scheme, in a manner that enhances public health through the appropriate application of science, engineering and related best practices.

The work of the panel on supporting the implementation of the Faure New Water Scheme will be independently managed by the WRC, with regular reporting to the City of Cape Town.

The IAP will be in place until June 30, 2024.