Rising Waters

This report by the African Centre for Cities at the University of Cape Town examines flooding risks in Cape Town's informal settlements, specifically in the Philippi area, and along its coastline. It highlights the intersection of apartheid-era spatial planning, poverty, and climate change, arguing that technical engineering solutions must be paired with collaborative governance and community participation to be effective.

• Informal settlements on the Cape Flats are highly vulnerable to annual flooding due to a combination of low-lying sandy soils, a naturally high water table, and the disruption of natural drainage by hard surfaces like roads and pavements.
• Between 2007 and 2009, between 32,000 and 34,400 people were displaced by flooding in Cape Town's informal settlements, with approximately 88,000 homes identified as being at risk.
• Flooding in these communities leads to severe socio-economic and health impacts, including the destruction of property, disruption of education, and the prevalence of illnesses such as TB, pneumonia, diarrhoea, and skin rashes caused by cold, damp conditions and sewage-tainted water.
• Residents employ various individual and household-level adaptation strategies to manage floodwaters, such as lifting shacks on wooden stilts, using plastic sheeting for roofs and floors, digging trenches, and using building rubble or pallets to create elevated paths.
• Technical infrastructure projects often fail when they lack community consultation; for example, a 2008 installation of communal flush toilets in Kosovo failed because the collection chambers became blocked, forcing residents back to the bucket system.
• Effective flood risk management requires a shift from 'government' (hierarchical, top-down) to 'governance' (collaborative networks), involving a partnership between the City's bureaucrats, elected politicians, community leaders, and NGOs.
• The City of Cape Town's Flood and Storms Planning Task Team aims to reduce 'silo' responses by coordinating multiple departments, including Water and Sanitation, Human Settlements, and Solid Waste Management.
• Climate change is increasing the risk of coastal flooding through sea level rise caused by warming oceans and melting ice sheets, as well as more frequent and fierce storm surges.
• The report advocates for 'soft' coastal management through the implementation of 'set back lines'—protective buffer zones where development is forbidden or strictly controlled—rather than relying on expensive and potentially ineffective 'hard' engineering like sea walls.

APA

-1, Joubert, L., & Martindale, L. (2013). Rising Waters. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fliccr-risingwaters-2013.pdf

Chicago

-1, Leonie Joubert, and Linda Martindale. Rising Waters. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2013. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fliccr-risingwaters-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=-1 |last2=Joubert |first2=Leonie |last3=Martindale |first3=Linda |title=Rising Waters |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fliccr-risingwaters-2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{12013rising, author = {-1 and Joubert, Leonie and Martindale, Linda}, title = {{Rising Waters}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/sei-fliccr-risingwaters-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }