Sustainable Development News South Africa

#GBCSA2017: De Lille calls on building sector to 'think differently' as city continues to tackle drought

Patricia de Lille has highlighted the vital role of the property and building sectors in working with the City of Cape Town to navigate through the current drought being experienced by the region - the worst in more than 100 years.
Patricia de Lille at the 10th annual Green Building Convention
Patricia de Lille at the 10th annual Green Building Convention

Speaking at the GBCSA's 10th annual Green Building Convention, the executive mayor called on industry players to implement their projects while ensuring resilience and sustainability. With 19,000 building plans approved in 2016, she asked that they plan, build and design differently, taking the impacts of climate change into consideration. In her address, she also alluded to potential legislation that could see more future developments incorporating green building methodologies.

De Lille assured delegates, facing a 'new normal' scenario of water scarcity, that they would not let the city run out of water, and that various augmentation sources were being investigated:

  • Desalination: two land-based desalination plants (located in Monwabisi and Strandfontein) will be switched on-stream in February 2018. Additional projects will also go online from March 2018.
  • Groundwater extraction: two aquifers in Atlantis and Silwerstroom are currently online, and will be fully running by January and February 2018. The city is also looking at other aquifers in the region.
  • Reusing wastewater: recycled wastewater from the Zandvliet Wastewater Treatment Plant will be sterilised, cleaned and pumped back into the dams.

Disaster risk management plan

The city recently published its disaster risk management plan for in the event that the taps run completely dry. Currently in the first phase, water pressure has been reduced to very low levels. The second phase will entail low water pressure, and water rationing - the city will determine what amount of water will be used by businesses and what amount will be used by communities.

De Lille also highlighted a few inspiring examples of water efficiency within the private sector in Cape Town, including Hotel Verde which has Platinum LEED certification from the US Green Building Council for design and construction, Tsogo Sun which is retrofitting four of its hotels and going completely off the grid, and Growthpoint Properties and the Public Investment Corporation which are investigating the feasibility of a desalination plant at the V&A Waterfront.

"An inspiring model for me in the private sector, which I think more companies must look into to replicate, is the four-star Old Mutual Wealth The Estuaries Plaza right here in Century City. That building generates its own water through a very sophisticated upcycling system - an on-site water treatment and purification system - which reduces potable water demand from the city by a remarkable 88.5%. So it can be done," she said.

"In this time of crisis we can no longer rely on our old way of thinking, we can no longer rely on our old methodology of planning. We need to think differently. And it's not only government that must lead, it's all of us. All of us must dare to lead, and you, the building sector, play an important role in that."

For more info on GBCSA's 10th annual Green Building Convention, go to www.gbcsaconvention.org.za.

About Sindy Peters

Sindy Peters (@sindy_hullaba_lou) is a group editor at Bizcommunity.com on the Construction & Engineering, Energy & Mining, and Property portals. She can be reached at moc.ytinummoczib@ydnis.
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