Cape Agulhas Municipality’s Transition Towards a Smart City 2.0

This case study describes the Cape Agulhas Municipality's (CAM) transition toward a "Smart City 2.0" by implementing a smart groundwater monitoring and management system. To replace costly and inefficient manual monitoring of boreholes and reservoirs, CAM deployed a municipal-wide LoRaWAN Internet of Things (IoT) network. The project, piloted in Suiderstrand, uses real-time sensors and variable speed drives (VSDs) to improve resource oversight, reduce operational costs, and lower carbon emissions.

• The Cape Agulhas Municipality (CAM) transitioned from manual groundwater monitoring, which required trips up to 50km and occurred as often as 21 times a week during peak holiday periods, to a smart system. This transition is part of a "Smart City 2.0" objective focused on "the intersection of the digital transformation and human-centred design."
• The technical solution was implemented in phases, starting with a municipal-wide Internet of Things (IoT) network using LoRaWAN technology. The second phase involved digitising water infrastructure in the pilot town of Suiderstrand using piezometer tubes, level sensors, variable speed drives (VSDs), and downstream flow meters to provide "near real-time data and control".
• The smart monitoring system is projected to deliver significant financial returns, including a return on investment (ROI) of 32% over three years and 103% over five years. The municipality anticipates total annual savings of R1.4m against an initial investment of R2.7m, with a payback period of 24 months. Specifically, labour costs for manual readings are forecast to be reduced by R1,148,282 per year.
• Environmental and operational benefits include an 80% reduction in carbon emissions associated with bulk water monitoring, resulting from a forecast annual travel reduction of 50,279km. Operationally, the system allows for the detection of infrastructure failure by monitoring night time flows and reduces the need for bi-annual groundwater management consultants to an annual basis.
• Key success factors for the project included an 8-month stakeholder engagement process involving politicians and employees, the use of a pilot town (Suiderstrand) to rectify design snags, and a detailed 8-month tender development process to ensure precise specifications.

APA

Roselt, M. (2020). Cape Agulhas Municipality’s Transition Towards a Smart City 2.0. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/CAPE_AGULHAS_CASE_STUDY_28_10_21.pdf

Chicago

Roselt, Marielle. Cape Agulhas Municipality’s Transition Towards a Smart City 2.0. GreenCape, 2020. https://greencape.co.za/assets/CAPE_AGULHAS_CASE_STUDY_28_10_21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Roselt |first1=Marielle |title=Cape Agulhas Municipality’s Transition Towards a Smart City 2.0 |publisher=GreenCape |date=2020 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/CAPE_AGULHAS_CASE_STUDY_28_10_21.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{roselt2020cape, author = {Roselt, Marielle}, title = {{Cape Agulhas Municipality’s Transition Towards a Smart City 2.0}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2020}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/CAPE_AGULHAS_CASE_STUDY_28_10_21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }