Managing Water as a Constraint to Development with Decision-Support Tools That Promote Integrated Planning: The Case of the Berg Water Management Area

This report examines water as a constraint to economic development in the Berg Water Management Area (WMA) of South Africa. It introduces a regional hydro-economic GIS tool and a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool for Saldanha Bay to move away from first-come-first-served water allocation toward a system based on socio-economic outcomes. Key findings indicate that while the City of Cape Town dominates the regional economy, municipalities like Swartland, Saldanha Bay, and Bergrivier face significant future development constraints due to water scarcity. The report recommends establishing a regional water utility, creating innovative financing mechanisms for infrastructure, and better integrating water availability into Integrated Development Plans (IDPs).

• The study identifies the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) as the primary integrated planning tool, but finds that it does not sufficiently account for water resource availability.
• Municipalities acting as Water Service Authorities (WSAs) lack the capacity and resources to develop local water resources and struggle to obtain water from regional schemes managed by the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
• Projections for 2025 and 2040 indicate that under all climate change models, irrigated agriculture will require more water to remain sustainable, while urban centers will also see increasing demand.
• While the City of Cape Town dominates regional economic outcomes, the West Coast municipalities of Swartland, Saldanha Bay, and Bergrivier are identified as areas where water is likely to be a significant constraint to future development and livelihoods.
• A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool was developed for Saldanha Bay to prioritize new development applications based on socio-economic outcomes relative to water requirements, replacing a first-come-first-served allocation method.
• The report recommends the creation of a regional water utility or water board for the Berg WMA to resolve the lack of local water resource development support.
• There is a recommended need for a regional or national fund that Water Service Authorities can access for off-budget water resource infrastructure, potentially leveraging private sector funds.
• The study highlights critical data gaps that hinder the development of fully functional hydro-economic tools, specifically regarding sectoral urban water usage, multi-year agricultural revenue, and metered agricultural water use.
• The report suggests that the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) should be permitted to finance smaller projects not linked to the DWS, or a public-private fund should be established to assist municipalities.
• The project successfully shifted the perception of water within the provincial government from being viewed solely as an environmental concern to being seen as an enabler of growth and jobs.

APA

Pengelly, C., Seyler, H., Fordyce, N., van Vuuren, P. J., van der Walt, M., van Zyl, H., & Kinghorn, J. (2017). Managing Water as a Constraint to Development with Decision-Support Tools That Promote Integrated Planning: The Case of the Berg Water Management Area. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Final-Report.pdf

Chicago

Pengelly, C., H. Seyler, N. Fordyce, P. Janse van Vuuren, M. van der Walt, H. van Zyl, and J. Kinghorn. Managing Water as a Constraint to Development with Decision-Support Tools That Promote Integrated Planning: The Case of the Berg Water Management Area. GreenCape, 2017. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Final-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pengelly |first1=C. |last2=Seyler |first2=H. |last3=Fordyce |first3=N. |last4=van Vuuren |first4=P. Janse |last5=van der Walt |first5=M. |last6=van Zyl |first6=H. |last7=Kinghorn |first7=J. |title=Managing Water as a Constraint to Development with Decision-Support Tools That Promote Integrated Planning: The Case of the Berg Water Management Area |publisher=GreenCape |date=December 2017 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Final-Report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pengelly2017managing, author = {Pengelly, C. and Seyler, H. and Fordyce, N. and van Vuuren, P. Janse and van der Walt, M. and van Zyl, H. and Kinghorn, J.}, title = {{Managing Water as a Constraint to Development with Decision-Support Tools That Promote Integrated Planning: The Case of the Berg Water Management Area}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Final-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }