Water: Market Intelligence Report 2019

The report identifies significant investment opportunities in South Africa's urban water sector across four markets: commercial and industrial, residential, new property developments, and municipalities. It highlights a projected 17% gap between water supply and demand by 2030, with severe shortages expected in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape. In the Berg River management area, this deficit could cost the region over R146 billion and 650,000 jobs per year by 2040. Key opportunities include water-efficient technologies, wastewater reuse, desalination, and non-revenue water reduction. The report also details the regulatory environment, including the National Water Act and municipal by-laws, and emphasizes the Western Cape's role as a greentech hub.

• South Africa is projected to face a 17% gap between water supply and demand by 2030, with the most severe shortages expected in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal.
• In the Berg River management area, which includes Cape Town, the failure to develop new water resources could result in a supply deficit costing the region more than R146 billion and nearly 650,000 jobs annually by 2040.
• The public sector faces a significant funding shortfall for water services infrastructure; in 2017, the required funding was R89.9 billion, but only R56.6 billion was budgeted, leaving a gap of R33.3 billion.
• The City of Cape Town has committed to a new water programme over 10 years with provisional costs of R5.8 billion to deliver 417 MLD of new capacity.
• Non-revenue water (NRW) represents a major loss for South African municipalities, with 41% of the 4,000 million kl used annually being NRW, resulting in an estimated R6.3 billion in lost revenue each year.
• The food and beverage sector is a primary target for water technology investment due to its high water usage and growing gross fixed capital formation, projected to be approximately R14 billion by 2021.
• In the residential market, the most viable segment for water technology investment is wealthier households (those earning >R200k per annum), as they have higher ownership of water-consuming assets.
• New property developments in South Africa spent approximately R2.1 billion on wet services in 2018, with the majority of the market concentrated in the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal.
• Regulatory barriers, particularly the complex and lengthy process of obtaining licenses for groundwater use under the National Water Act, can deter investment in alternative water solutions.
• The City of Cape Town's Water Amendment By-law 2018 mandates that all new developments must install sub-metering for multi-unit properties and implement water-saving measures or alternative water systems.

APA

GreenCape (2019). Water: Market Intelligence Report 2019. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-MIR-2019-WEB-01-04-2019-3.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Water: Market Intelligence Report 2019. 2019. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-MIR-2019-WEB-01-04-2019-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Water: Market Intelligence Report 2019 |date=2019 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-MIR-2019-WEB-01-04-2019-3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2019water, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Water: Market Intelligence Report 2019}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2019}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WATER-MIR-2019-WEB-01-04-2019-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }