COST CONCERNS
Rain check for Cape Town desalination plant
The cost of maintaining Cape Town's proposed desalination plant would result in residents paying more for water
Desalination, a long-term solution to Cape Town’s water problems, will not get off the ground anytime soon due to cost concerns, the city says. The city has been exploring the possibility of constructing a multibillion-rand desalination plant on its northwestern coast to offset an expected shortage of potable water. However, the cost of maintaining such a plant would result in residents paying more for water. Xanthea Limberg, the city’s mayoral committee member responsible for water and waste services, said: "It’s an option, but it just won’t happen tomorrow. We are looking at a number of other options [in the short to medium term] including water reclamation and the Table Mountain group aquifer."
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