The urban water metabolism of Cape Town: Towards becoming a water sensitive city

To improve its resilience to increasing climatic uncertainty, the City of Cape Town (the City) aims to become a water sensitive city by 2040. To undertake this challenge, a means to measure progress is needed that quantifies the urban water systems at a scale that enables a whole-of-system approach to water management. Using an urban water metabolism framework, we (1) provide a first city-scale quantification of the urban water cycle integrating its natural and anthropogenic flows, and (2) assess alternative water sources (indicated in the New Water Programme) and whether they support the City towards becoming water sensitive. We employ a spatially explicit method with particular consideration to apply this analysis to other African or Global South cities. At the time of study, centralised potable water demand by the City amounted to 325 gigalitres per annum, 99% of which was supplied externally from surface storage, and the remaining ~1% internally from groundwater storage (Atlantis aquifer). Within the City’s boundary, runoff, wastewater effluent and groundwater represent significant internal resources which could, in theory, improve supply efficiency and internalisation as well as hydrological performance. For the practical use of alternative resources throughout the urban landscape, spatially explicit insight is required regarding the seasonality of runoff, local groundwater storage capacity and the quality of water as it is conveyed through the complex urban landscape. We suggest further research to develop metrics of urban water resilience and equity, both of which are important in a Global South context.

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Application of Rainwater Garden in Economical Ecological Urban Landscape

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.409-410.800 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 409-410 ◽

pp. 800-805 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiao Yi Xuan ◽

Hui Xuan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Underground Water ◽

Urban Water ◽

Local Climate ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Cycle System ◽

Island Effect ◽

Cyclic Utilization

With the acceleration of global sustainable development, the shortage of water resources especially the city has become the focus of attention in all countries since water is the key to build a resources-saving ecological city. The article improved the existing "rain garden" project and replenished the purification of the rain in order to realize the urban water cyclic utilization ,through recycling rainwater, which can manage rainstorm effectively , improve the urban water cycle system, as well as supply urban irrigation and underground water. Besides, the combination of urban landscape and stormwater management system, if widely accepted, will not only improve the urban water problem, but also improve the urban environment, alleviating the urban heat island effect and improving the local climate. It can shape a new resources-saving ecological city and then realize the sustainable development of resources.

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“El remo, nuestro deporte, requiere agua limpia”. Experiencias innovadoras de saneamiento del agua urbana entre clubes de remo de Florianópolis y Amsterdam

ILUMINURAS ◽

10.22456/1984-1191.109648 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (55) ◽

Author(s):

Cristhian Fernando Caje Rodriguez

Keyword(s):

Solid Waste ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Daily Life ◽

Clean Water ◽

Urban Water ◽

Urban Waste ◽

Constant Increase ◽

Academic Exchange ◽

Two Cities ◽

The City

Resumo: El aumento constante de residuos sólidos urbanos en las aguas de Florianópolis y Amsterdam es algo que preocupa a deportistas y aficionados al remo. El agua es un elemento omnipresente en el paisaje urbano de estas dos ciudades, lo que las convierte en lugares ideales para remar. Sin embargo, el aumento constante de residuos sólidos es un problema que se agrava cada día en el día a día de la ciudad. El presente trabajo se desarrolló a partir del intercambio académico con la Frive Universiteit Amsterdam, hecho posible por el programa Capes / Nuffic, como doctorado sanduíche y trata de comprender las diferentes respuestas que se dan a esta problemática en estos contextos económicamente desiguales.Palabras clave: Remo. Ciudad. saneamiento. aguas “THE ROWING, OUR SPORT, REQUIRES CLEAN WATER”. INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES IN URBAN WATER SANITATION BETWEEN FLORIANÓPOLIS AND AMSTERDAM ROWING CLUBS Abstract: The constant increase in solid urban waste in the waters of Florianópolis and Amsterdam is something that worries athletes and rowing enthusiasts. Water is an omnipresent element in the urban landscape of these two cities, making them ideal places for rowing. However, the constant increase in solid waste is a problem that is getting worse every day in the daily life of the city. The present work was developed from the academic exchange with the Frive Universiteit Amsterdam, made possible by the Capes/Nuffic program, as a sanduíche doctorate and tries to understand the different responses that are given to this problem in these economically unequal contexts. Keywords: Rowing. City. sanitation. waters

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Aura, the city of colour – Australia's shining example of widescale integrated water cycle management

Water Practice & Technology ◽

10.2166/wpt.2017.078 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 737-744 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

T. McAlister ◽

M. Stephens ◽

A. Allen

Keyword(s):

Water Conservation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Urban Water ◽

Stormwater Treatment ◽

Sewer System ◽

Potable Reuse ◽

Project Sustainability ◽

The City ◽

System Designs

Aura, the ‘City of Colour’, is a 48,000 person masterplanned community on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Aura commenced construction in 2015 and will be developed over the next 25 years. Aura sets a benchmark in Australia regarding large scale urban water sustainability through the application of techniques such as rainwater capture and reuse, construction and operational stormwater treatment, water conservation, advanced sewer system designs and potentially a major stormwater harvesting and indirect potable reuse scheme. This paper outlines the journey taken in seeing Aura advance from ‘concept’ to ‘reality’, describes data collection undertaken and modelling tools applied and outlines activities being implemented at Aura to protect sensitive downstream environments and simultaneously deliver water cycle and project sustainability benefits.

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Study of the occurrence and ecosystem danger of selected endocrine disruptors in the urban water cycle of the city of Bogotá, Colombia

Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part A ◽

10.1080/10934529.2017.1401372 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 53 (4) ◽

pp. 317-325 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Diego F. Bedoya-Ríos ◽

Jaime A. Lara-Borrero ◽

Verónica Duque-Pardo ◽

Carlos A. Madera-Parra ◽

Eliana M. Jimenez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Endocrine Disruptors ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Urban Water ◽

The City ◽

Urban Water Cycle

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Fragment urbanism: Politics at the margins of the city

Environment and Planning D Society and Space ◽

10.1177/0263775818777496 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 1007-1025 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Colin McFarlane

Keyword(s):

Urban Poverty ◽

Cape Town ◽

Global South ◽

Urban Theory ◽

Urban Sanitation ◽

Poverty And Inequality ◽

History Of ◽

To Receive ◽

The City

Fragmentation is a keyword in the history of critical urban thought. Yet the products of fragmentation – the fragments themselves – tend to receive less attention. In this paper, I develop a politics of urban fragments as a contribution to debates both in urban theory and in urban poverty and inequality. I examine inadequate and broken material fragments on the economic margins of the urban global South, and ask how they become differently politicized in cities. I develop a three-fold framework for understanding the politics of fragments: attending to, generative translation and surveying wholes. I build these arguments through a focus on a fundamental provision – urban sanitation – drawing on research in Mumbai in particular, as well as Cape Town, and connecting those instances to research on urban poverty, politics and fragmentation.

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Assessment of the urban water cycle in Antwerp (BE): The City Blueprint Approach (CBA)

Cleaner Environmental Systems ◽

10.1016/j.cesys.2021.100011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 100011

Author(s):

Wim Huyghe ◽

María Hernández-Pacheco Algaba ◽

Kees van Leeuwen ◽

Stef Koop ◽

Steven Eisenreich

Keyword(s):

Water Cycle ◽

Urban Water ◽

The City ◽

Urban Water Cycle

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Understanding urban water performance at the city-region scale using an urban water metabolism evaluation framework

Water Research ◽

10.1016/j.watres.2018.01.070 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 137 ◽

pp. 395-406 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Marguerite A. Renouf ◽

Steven J. Kenway ◽

Ka Leung Lam ◽

Tony Weber ◽

Estelle Roux ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Evaluation Framework ◽

Urban Water ◽

City Region ◽

Water Metabolism ◽

Region Scale ◽

The City

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A systems approach to urban water services in the context of integrated energy and water planning: A City of Cape Town case study

Journal of Energy in Southern Africa ◽

10.17159/2413-3051/2014/v25i4a2239 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 59-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fadiel Ahjum ◽

Theodor J Stewart

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Surface Water ◽

Cape Town ◽

Energy Requirements ◽

Urban Water ◽

Water Services ◽

Water Planning ◽

Scenario Analyses ◽

Urban Water Services ◽

The City

The City of Cape Town derives the bulk of its present water supply from surface water resources and is the central water service authority for metropolitan consumers. The City is also a provider of bulk water to neighbouring municipalities. An exploration of the energy consumption for water and sanitation services for the City of Cape Town was conducted with an emphasis on water supply augmentation options for the near future (2011-2030). A systems analysis of municipal urban water services was undertaken to examine the energy requirements of supply alternatives and the efficacy of the alternatives in respect of supply availability and reliability. This was achieved using scenario based analysis incorporating a simple additive value function, to obtain a basic performance score, to rank alternatives and facilitate a quantitative comparison. Utilising the Water Evaluation and Planning hydrological modelling tool, a model for urban water services was developed for the City and used to conduct scenario analyses for a representative portfolio of previously identified options. Within the scope of the research objectives, the scenario analyses examines the direct energy consumption for the provision of water services for the City as influenced by external factors such as population growth, surface water runoff variability, available alternatives and the policies that are adopted which ultimately determine the future planning. It is contended that the modelling process presented here integrates energy and water planning for an assessment of water and energy resources required for future growth, and the optimal measures that could be pursued to reconcile the demand for water and the concomitant energy requirements.

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Following a Step by Step Development of a Resilience Action Plan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12219017 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (21) ◽

pp. 9017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Adriana Cardoso ◽

Maria João Telhado ◽

Maria do Céu Almeida ◽

Rita Salgado Brito ◽

Cristina Pereira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Action Plan ◽

Electric Energy ◽

Action Planning ◽

Urban Water ◽

Urban Services ◽

The City ◽

Water Waste

According to the United Nations, by 2030, 60% of the world’s population will live in cities, and 70% by 2050. Both consolidated and fast urbanizing areas face diverse acute shocks from natural disasters and long-term stresses, such as the effects of climate change. Therefore, there is a need for cities to implement plans for increasing resilience and improving preparedness to cope with both acute shocks and long-term stresses. Development of resilience action plans (RAP) constitutes an important process for the cities to plan their resilience enhancement in the long, medium, and short terms. These are key tools for the city, considering the associated complexity, uncertainties, data scarcity, interdependencies among urban services provided in the city, as well as involved stakeholders. Herein, a framework is presented to support city resilience action planning related to climate change through a multisector approach. The framework was applied step by step to three cities—Barcelona, Bristol, and Lisbon—and their RAPs to climate change provide roadmaps for resilience, having the urban water cycle as the core. In these plans, urban services are included, given their interactions and contributions to city’s resilience. Addressed services are water supply, wastewater, storm water, waste, electric energy, and mobility.

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