The municipality’s Water and Sanitation Directorate came out tops for its management of wastewater at the Green Drop Award ceremony hosted by the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on Friday 1 April.
The Green Drop audit programme, run by DWS as the regulator, aims to raise awareness of good practice in wastewater treatment and mobilise the wastewater sector on a path to improvement.
The programme recognises municipalities who perform well. The ceremony preceded the release of the 2022 Green Drop Report, which covered the period under review of 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
The Green Drop audit scorecard considers evidence against five key performance areas, which include capacity management, environmental management, financial management, technical management and effluent and sludge compliance.
For the period under review, the audit covered 995 wastewater systems countrywide. The regulator determined that of these 22 wastewater systems qualified for the prestigious Green Drop Certification. In addition, 30 wastewater systems were identified as Green Drop contenders in acknowledgement of their excellent performance and being within reach of Green Drop status.
The City of Cape Town achieved the second highest number of Green Drop Certifications (four of its 26 systems) and the most Green Drop contenders to certification (eight of its 26 systems) in the country.
At the ceremony, the City received Green Drop Awards for the Green Point Outfall, Wesfleur Domestic Waste Water Treatment system, Hout Bay Outfall and Philadelphia Wastewater Treatment systems.
Cape Town also received the award for the best performing system in the country with the Wesfleur Domestic system achieving an overall Green Drop score of 99,7%. The City’s waste water treatment systems identified by the regulator as Green Drop contenders include: Macassar, Athlone, Kraaifontein, Mitchells Plain, Borcherd’s Quarry, Potsdam, Melkbosstrand and Fisentekraal.
In the published 2022 Green Drop Report, the regulator congratulated the City for its good and consistent performance, where their overall 2013 score of 89% was maintained at 88%. The Regulator also drew attention to the high Green Drop scores (more than 80%) that have consistently been achieved since 2009, which is the mark of sustainable wastewater management.
“The various awards received at the Green Drop ceremony is testament to the City’s commitment to improving good practices in its wastewater treatment systems holistically,” said Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation.
“This is being achieved through the combined efforts of ongoing investment in infrastructure and our teams who are determined to ensure that we are treating wastewater optimally before it can be released into waterways. As part of our investment, the City is projected to spend a minimum of R8 billion in wastewater treatment works’ (WWTW) upgrades over the next 10 years.”
The regulator noted that three of the City’s wastewater treatment plants have reached their design capacity, something the muncipality is in the process of addressing. An update on the progress of upgrades at the following treatment plants is as follows: . The Zandvliet WWTW is currently being refurbished and upgraded from 72MI/d to 90 MI/d by 2024 at an estimated cost of R1,9 billion. This is one of the City’s largest capital projects. See: https://bit.ly/3xdpuBr . There is an estimated R35 million upgrade project underway, which will see the Klipheuwel WWTW catchment permanently becoming part of the Fisantekraal WWTW catchment. This includes plans to decommission the Klipheuwel WWTW once a pump station has been provided in its place. . Flow into the Gordon’s Bay WWTW is being maximised without compromising treated effluent quality, to take the pressure off the Macassar WWTW. The Macassar WWTW upgrade project, which is underway, currently has an estimated project cost of R 1,5 billion. When completed, the Macassar WWTW will provide for the current and future flow from the Gordon’s Bay catchment.
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The full Green Drop Report is available at https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/latestresults.aspx
