Managing Water as a Constraint to Development: A case for integrated planning in the Berg Water Management Area

This synthesis report by GreenCape examines the economic impacts of water scarcity in the Berg Water Management Area (WMA) and evaluates the governance failures that hinder integrated water and economic planning. It projects severe economic losses by 2040, primarily driven by urban water deficits in the City of Cape Town, and recommends institutional reforms, including the establishment of a Regional Water Utility and the adoption of hydro-economic decision-support tools.

• The Berg Water Management Area is a constrained system where water requirements are projected to exceed system yield by 2019. Even with the Voëlvlei Augmentation Scheme expected in 2021, the total system yield will remain below total allocations.
• Water supply deficits are projected to cause massive economic and social losses by 2040, costing the region over R146 billion and nearly 650,000 jobs annually. While urban and agricultural sectors will face deficits equally by 2040, 99% of the opportunity cost will be generated by the urban sector due to the significantly higher economic value per cubic meter (R993 for urban vs R11 for agricultural).
• The City of Cape Town is the primary driver of regional economic growth and will experience the highest opportunity costs from water deficits, exceeding R100 billion per year by 2040. However, smaller municipalities like Bergrivier, Saldanha Bay, and Swartland are more vulnerable as the opportunity costs of the deficit range from 77% to 190% of their current economy size.
• Agricultural water demand is heavily dominated by grapes (largely wine grapes), which consume approximately 79% of irrigated water. Due to climate change, grapes are expected to increase their water requirements by 34% by 2040.
• Current planning processes in South Africa are fragmented and top-down, leading to a misalignment between national goals and local capacity. Key failures include the assessment of water use licenses on a first-come, first-served basis without weighing socio-economic benefits, and the lack of integration between Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and actual water availability.
• Water Service Authorities (WSAs) often lack the capacity, resources, and creditworthiness to develop local bulk water resources or raise off-budget financing for commercial projects. This leads to an over-reliance on the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) for regional schemes that may not meet local needs.
• To mitigate future constraints, the report recommends establishing a Regional Water Utility for better coordination, implementing crop-switching to low-water-intensity high-value crops (such as pome fruit and herbs), and utilizing hydro-economic GIS modelling to prioritize water augmentation interventions.

APA

GreenCape (2018). Managing Water as a Constraint to Development: A case for integrated planning in the Berg Water Management Area. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Synthesis-report-final.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Managing Water as a Constraint to Development: A case for integrated planning in the Berg Water Management Area. 2018. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Synthesis-report-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Managing Water as a Constraint to Development: A case for integrated planning in the Berg Water Management Area |date=4 September 2018 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Synthesis-report-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2018managing, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Managing Water as a Constraint to Development: A case for integrated planning in the Berg Water Management Area}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/Synthesis-report-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }