Cape Town: The Water and Sanitation Directorate of the City of Cape Town welcomed over half a million Capetonians for discussion on water matters. Continued public engagement activities were conducted where over 523,000 residents gathered at the 111 school sessions till April 2025.
These initiatives is a part of a broader, year-round campaign that aims at promoting responsible water-use. It will protect sanitation infrastructure of Cape Town, which will mainly focus on areas, such as:
- The ‘Bin it, don’t block it’ campaign to reduce the sewer blockages
- Education on the New Water Programme
- Awareness about the risks of living in flood-prone informal areas
- Information on reporting service faults and using City channels
- Highlighting the consequences of tampering with infrastructure and illegal water connections
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Water and Sanitation – Councillor Zahid Badroodien said that when they teach children early about the value of water and how to care for it, they are creating awareness and are shaping a generation of responsible water champions.
The Water and Sanitation will focus on sharing the important messages of the New Water Programme by the City of Cape Town for the new 2025-26 financial year. The beloved water mascot – Mzansi, is at the heart of the school outreach programme.
Mzansi delivers important messages with energy and enthusiasm in a fun and age-appropriate way. The helps children in understanding, from where water comes, and why it must be used wisely.
Popular highlight at these school visits is the giant 4x4m water-themed board game where learners compete to reinforce their understanding of water by laws of Cape Town and everyday water-saving habits. The game is designed to encourage the lasting behavioural change through the interactive play.
Additionally, 263 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) staff were employed to support awareness efforts. This also included door-to-door engagements, community events, data collection and localised education drives in Wallacedene and Wesbank.
The Water and Sanitation’s Community Engagement team kicked off their school rollout of the City’s New Water Programme. During a session with the learners from Centre of Science and Technology in Khayelitsha on Aug 28, 2025, the team shared practical tips on sustainable water use and explained how the City is diversifying its water sources to secure Cape Town’s future supply.
This marked the start of a series of activations that will continue to reach schools and communities across Cape Town in the year ahead.