Western Cape Municipalities shine with Green Drop Report
Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, welcomes the reinstatement of the Green Drop Reporting initiative by the Department of Water and Sanitation. The 2022 Western Cape Green Drop Report was recently released, providing an analysis of the current state of affairs of wastewater infrastructure and management in the Province.
Bredell said with an annual influx of more than 100 000 people per year into the Western Cape, it is of crucial importance for municipalities to be able to, in the first place, provide water security, but then of equal importance is a town’s ability to effectively receive, treat and reuse or release wastewater. “Water infrastructure and water management goes a long way to create the enabling environment for investment and job creation,” he said.
“The Green Drop Report looks at the state of municipal wastewater treatment, and it often is a good reflection of the overall state of a local government, as good wastewater management requires thorough planning, detailed budgeting, good management and operational discipline,” Bredell said.
“The 2022 Green Drop Report for the Western Cape indicated that all 25 municipalities participated in the Programme, which shows that the importance of wastewater management is understood by all local governments in the province, Bredell said.
This year, 12 Green Drop Certificates were awarded for wastewater systems in the Province. The certificates were awarded to 4 systems in the City of Cape Town, 3 systems in Witzenberg, 2 systems in Bitou, and 1 system each in Drakenstein, Saldanha Bay and Mossel Bay. To qualify for Green Drop Certification, a wastewater system needs to score ≥90% in criteria which includes Capacity Management, Environmental Management, Financial Management, Technical Management, Effluent and Sludge Compliance.
The 3 top performing municipalities in the 2021 national Green Drop assessment are all from the Western Cape. Witzenberg was announced as the top municipality overall, with a 96% Green Drop Score. Bitou came in second with 93%, and Drakenstein, Overstrand and Swartland were jointly in third place with 89%. “I want to congratulate the municipalities who managed to receive Green Drop Certification in this Report,” Bredell said.
According to the Report, Western Cape wastewater systems that were classified as excellent or good increased from 55 systems in 2013 to 72 systems in 2021.
There are reasons for concern as well, and Bredell said the increased pressure on water infrastructure can be seen in the fact that over the period 2013 to 2021, wastewater systems in a poor state increased from 26 systems in 2013 to 31 systems in 2021, and systems in a ‘critical state’ increased from 9 in 2013 to 18 systems in 2021.
Bredell said the Department of Local Government takes note of the 7 municipalities, managing 18 wastewater systems, which received Green Drop scores below 31%. The municipalities are Beaufort West, Hessequa, Matzikama, Swellendam, Langeberg, Prince Albert, and Kannaland. “My Department works closely with the DWS to support and guide these struggling entities to address wastewater collection and treatment shortcomings identified in this Report.”
According to the Report, an amount of R720million is needed in the Western Cape to return old and dysfunctional wastewater plants to their original design. The bulk of the budget is needed for restoration of mechanical equipment.
The Western Cape Green Drop Report can be downloaded at: https://tinyurl.com/WCGreenDrop
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Contact:
Wouter Kriel
Spokesperson for Minister Anton Bredell
Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
079 694 3085