Integrated water resource planning in the city of Cape Town

Abstract

Over the last decade the approach to dealing with an increasing water demand in the Cape Metropolitan Area (CMA) has progressively shifted from a supply oriented philosophy to one where strategies for reducing the demand are integrated with supply management. While there is still much to be done to implement a totally integrated approach, a firm foundation has been laid. Water demand management as an approach became increasingly prominent in the CCT supply area in the mid 1990s. Accordingly, a Water Demand Management Section was formed in the Water Department of the former Cape Metropolitan Council (CMC). This section was instrumental in shifting the approaches to water demand management in the 6 local councils in the CMA. Towards the end of 1999 it became increasingly clear that there was a need to adopt an integrated water resource planning approach to manage the future water demand. As a result, the former CMC appointed consultants to carry out an “Integrated Water Resource Planning” (IWRP) study.

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