Municipal Snapshot

This fact sheet provides a municipal snapshot of Cape Town's water usage, economic contribution, and projected water supply deficits through 2040, emphasizing the city's role as the primary economic driver and water user in the region.

• Cape Town is the dominant economic and water-consuming entity in its region, contributing 84% of the regional Gross Value Add (GVA) and utilizing 85% of all urban water.
• The Cape Town economy is less reliant on water-intensive sectors compared to others, with 73% of its economy consisting of low water intense industries, which provides the city with a higher capacity to absorb economic shocks caused by water constraints.
• Cape Town's water supply deficit is projected to grow significantly, from an estimated 16.6 million m3 per annum by 2025 to approximately 113.3 million m3 per year by 2040, representing 37% of the Berg WMA's total deficit.
• The economic impact of the projected 2040 water deficit in Cape Town is estimated at approximately R100 billion in GVA and 403,877 jobs per annum, which equals 29% of the local economy's current size.
• To mitigate high socio-economic costs, there is an urgent need to implement groundwater augmentation, water reuse, and desalination projects.

APA

GreenCape (2018). Municipal Snapshot. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/CAPE-TOWN-SNAPSHOT-5.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Municipal Snapshot. 2018. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/CAPE-TOWN-SNAPSHOT-5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Municipal Snapshot |date=April 2018 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/CAPE-TOWN-SNAPSHOT-5.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2018municipal, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Municipal Snapshot}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/CAPE-TOWN-SNAPSHOT-5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }