Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Water and Waste Water Management
With dwindling water sources and a high incidence of drought, South Africa’s water sector is highly vulnerable to climate change. The project makes South Africa’s water and wastewater sector more resilient to the impacts of climate change. It introduces adaptation and energy efficiency measures that contribute to realizing national climate change objectives and respond to vulnerable groups’ development needs. By expanding water and energy resource efficiency gains, introducing clean energy, reducing water losses, strengthening management capacities, and raising awareness on climate resilience, water and sanitation services are enhanced, particularly for vulnerable groups. Activities target at least two municipalities and result in a replicable model for more municipalities. The project supports the Department of Water and Sanitation to progress more rapidly, effectively and on the basis of improved knowledge with the implementation of its National Water and Sanitation Master Plan.
- Countries
- South Africa
- IKI funding
- 2,900,000.00 €
- Duration
- 08/2022 till 10/2026
- Status
- open
- Implementing organisation
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
- Political Partner
-
- Department for Water and Sanitation (DWS) - South Africa
- Implementing Partner
-
- South African Local Government Association (SALGA) - South Africa
- Water Research Commission (WRC)
State of implementation/results
- An international consulting consortium focusing on non-revenue water (NRW), water conservation, stormwater management, tariffs, sludge management, and informal settlement sanitation began work in March 2025.
- Data loggers were installed at 101 strategic points across George and uMhlathuze networks to assess water losses over three months and to identify NRW hot spots. Billing data analysis identified inconsistencies. Resolving these inconsistencies can lead to increased revenue for the municipalities.
- Operational assessments of five wastewater treatment plants in uMhlathuze determined training needs and priority interventions.
- A situational analysis was completed for sanitation in informal settlements in George to inform the selection of suitable non-sewered sanitation solutions.
- On April 10th, the project facilitated a roundtable between LCCR Water partner municipalities and national stakeholders including the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), National Treasury, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Water Research Commission (WRC), and Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent. This identified opportunities for enhanced support and policy alignment, initiating discussions between DBSA and both George (sanitation in informal settlements and water reuse) and uMhlathuze (water reuse).-- On 28th May, the project in cooperation with Drakenstein Municipality organized a 1-day peer learning event on NRW. With NRW levels around 20%, Drakenstein is amongst the best performing municipalities in South Africa. The municipality shared its success factors and participating municipalities discussed their own experiences and transferability to their local context. Participants included senior finance and technical staff from George, uMhlathuze, Newcastle, JB Marks and Drakenstein.
- On 21st August, the project in cooperation with George Municipality organized a 1-day peer-learning on smart water meters. George Municipality shared experiences from installing 8,000 smart meters, presenting successes, challenges, and practical solutions to participants from eight municipalities plus DWS, WRC, and University of KwaZulu-Natal representatives.
- On 19th August the project organized a joint training for George and uMhlathuze on the development of wastewater management assessment tools becoming mandatory under DWS regulations. Participants included infrastructure services, human settlements departments of both municipalities, and DWS sanitation directorate staff.
- On 4th and 5th September, the project in cooperation with the City of Cape Town organized a peer-learning on sanitation in informal settlements for participants from George and uMhlathuze.
Latest Update:
12/2025
Project relations
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