Building water resilience in the City of Cape Town through the Faure New Water Scheme

The City of Cape Town is implementing the Faure New Water Scheme (NWS), a large-scale water reuse project designed to produce drinking-quality water from treated wastewater. As part of a broader New Water Programme aiming to add 300 million litres of water per day by 2030, the Faure NWS will utilize a multi-barrier advanced purification process to enhance the city's water resilience and reduce the risk of severe water restrictions.

• The City of Cape Town has a 10-year project pipeline investment of R120 billion, with approximately 40% of this pipeline dedicated to strengthening the city's ability to respond to future climatic shock events.
• Under its New Water Programme, the City of Cape Town aims to add 300 million litres of water per day from new, diversified sources by 2030. By 2040, it is expected that around 25% of the city's water will be sourced from reuse, groundwater, and desalination.
• The Faure New Water Scheme (NWS) is a purified recycled drinking water project expected to be commissioned by 2030, with construction slated to begin in the 2026/2027 financial year. The plant will produce up to 100 ML/d of clean drinking water, with Phase 1 equipped for 70 ML/d.
• The Faure NWS will employ a multi-barrier purification process consisting of six main steps: ozonation, biologically activated carbon (BAC) filtration, granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration, ultrafiltration, ultraviolet advanced oxidation, and disinfection.
• The Faure NWS will receive treated wastewater from the Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW). This water will undergo additional tertiary treatment—including biofiltration and fine rotary cloth filtration—before being pumped to the advanced water purification plant at the Faure Water Treatment Plant (WTP) campus.
• The operation of the Faure NWS is expected to create approximately 70 direct jobs, requiring a variety of qualifications including B-degrees, trade-tested artisans, and process controllers.
• The document identifies several existing water reuse examples: the Windhoek scheme in Namibia (the oldest in the world, commissioned in 1968), the Beaufort West Water Reclamation Plant (operational since January 2011 with a 2.3 ML/d capacity), and the Ballito water recycling plant (commissioned in August 2016, currently with a 4 ML/d capacity).

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Building water resilience in the City of Cape Town through the Faure New Water Scheme. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCT_case_study_water_resilience.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Building water resilience in the City of Cape Town through the Faure New Water Scheme. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCT_case_study_water_resilience.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Building water resilience in the City of Cape Town through the Faure New Water Scheme |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCT_case_study_water_resilience.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendbuilding, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Building water resilience in the City of Cape Town through the Faure New Water Scheme}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CCT_case_study_water_resilience.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }