Western Cape provincial trade, investment and tourism promotion agency Wesgro and nonprofit green economy solutions facilitation company GreenCape have jointly launched the CEO Guide to Water Resilience, in Cape Town. The creation of the guide was also supported by the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town.

“Long-term water resilience is crucial for companies aiming to mitigate or adapt to shocks and stresses,” highlighted Wesgro CEO Wrenelle Stander. “While resilience thinking is still emerging in many South African sectors, it’s vital that businesses integrate water resilience into their core strategies, and success will require coordinated efforts, transparency, and aligned goals among all stakeholders.”

Water resilience was defined as the capacity of water systems, whether infrastructure systems, community systems or ecosystems, to endure, adapt to, and recover from events such as contamination, droughts, floods, as well as from climate change. The issue remains a prominent one in the Cape, following Cape Town’s 2016-2018 drought, which brought the city close to a ‘Day Zero’ water situation. That drought resulted in estimated direct economic losses of R15-billion.

“Are we going to wait for our next Day Zero, or are we going to take this seriously?” queried Western Cape Premier Alan Winde. “Water must be at the forefront of boardroom discussions.”

The provincial government had a 15-year water plan, and that was a key focus area, he noted. Failing to ensure the water supply would be a bigger economic risk than the recent electricity cuts.

As for Cape Town, the city has allocated R18-billion to the water and sanitation budget, including R5-billion for capital projects. This latter figure is a significant rise from the R3.3-billion allotted during the previous financial year.

At the launch of the guide, examples were given of savings achieved by businesses which focused on water supply efficiencies. Thus, Virgin Active had spent R24-million on retrofitting the water supply systems, or installing alternative water supply systems, at their 30 branches in the Western Cape. As a result, the group cut its water use by 62% and earned its investment back in just 20 months. And Growthpoint Properties’ Estuaries office park, in Cape Town, installed smart water meters, which allowed the rapid detection and repair of water leaks. These smart meters were the main reason that this office park was able to cut its water use by 70%.