A delegation from the Malaysian PWSC, a state-owned utility responsible for water supply services in Penang, Malaysia, visited Cape Town recently. The PWSC manages the full water cycle from raw water abstraction and treatment to distribution, billing and ensuring sustainable supply for residential, commercial and industrial users across the state.

During the visit, the City presented operational measures that reduced consumption during the drought, including:
• Pressure management;
• Proactive communication campaigns to raise public awareness;
• Water conservation interventions, including indigent water leak repairs, ageing water pipe replacements and promoting the uptake of treated effluent for irrigation and industrial uses;
• Door-to-door engagements with the city’s highest water users (including the agricultural sector, carwashes, recreational facilities, etc.)

There was also an interactive discussion about the City’s water regulations and by-laws, future installation of smart water meters through the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) programme, drought water restrictions, revenue and tariff structures and the City’s high-water-consumption GIS tracking capabilities.

The delegation also went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Zandvliet WWTW, one of the City’s flagship facilities. Zandvliet WWTW plays a strategic role in the City’s New Water Programme, particularly in advancing water reuse initiatives. High-quality treated effluent from the facility will be conveyed to the future Faure New Water Scheme to be developed at the Faure Water Treatment Plant (WTP).

‘The FNWS will use sophisticated technology and a multi-barrier purification process to treat high-quality effluent to safe drinking water standards. This water will then be blended with dam water, treated again at the existing Faure WTP and distributed to households and residents through the City’s water supply network.’

‘Implementing this strategy will increase and diversify the City’s drinking water supply by between 70 and 100 million litres per day. It forms part of the City’s action plan to build a resilient water supply system capable of withstanding future climate shocks and drought,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.