Cape Town: The Water and Sanitation Directorate for the City of Cape Town hosted a recognition ceremony to honour Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) Scheme known as Western Cape for the Green Drop Technical Site Assessment. Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (headquartered in Middelburg, Mpumalanga), was crowned as the national 2025-2026 Green Drop Champions by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and secured overall 97% score.
With 94% score, Kraaifontein Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) received second place in the Western Cape for the Green Drop Technical Site Assessment. This was a well-deserved achievement that followed an on-site inspection which was conducted as part of 2025 Green Drop programme led by the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
The assessment earned Kraaifontein WWTW runner-up position in the Western Cape for its outstanding physical infrastructure and operational performance.
Reportedly, DWS’s Technical Site Assessment evaluates the physical condition of selected wastewater collector networks and treatment infrastructure. It also verifies desktop audit findings.
The key performance drivers behind the award were Kraaifontein WWTW, who excelled by demonstrating:
- Strong operational discipline through robust daily process controls and effective mechanical asset management, despite of widespread national infrastructure challenges.
- High infrastructure functionality by ensuring that key wastewater treatment processes operate at (or near) peak efficiency with minimal asset defects.
- Excellent compliance standards, and consistently meeting stringent chemical, physical and microbiological requirements that protect receiving water bodies including the Mossel bank River.
- Green engineering innovation by integrating forward-thinking solutions, such as piloting floating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to improve energy resilience while reducing water evaporation.
This plant also achieved an exceptional 94% for microbiological compliance, 79% for chemical compliance and 79% for physical compliance. It means that the treated wastewater discharged into the environment consistently after they met DWS’s stringent quality standards.
The plant services in Kraaifontein and Durbanville, are currently operating at an average inflow of five million litres per day (Ml/d), which is 71% of its 7Ml/d design capacity. It is operating within its design capacity that has enabled the facility to maintain consistently high performance.
It also serves as a proof-of-concept site for green technologies, with pilot projects at the facility, such as floating solar photovoltaic (PV) panels which were introduced to improve energy resilience and reduce water evaporation. Another advancement is a 990kWp ground mounted PV installation that was provided as a proof-of-concept installation, before roll-out to other WWTWs within the City of Cape Town.
Notably, this Green Drop recognition is a strong endorsement of the City of Cape Town’s sustained investment in wastewater infrastructure and the commitment to become a water-sensitive city. At this time when many wastewater treatment works across the country are under increasing pressure; Cape Town continues to invest in safeguarding and improving water quality for future generations.
Considering this, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Water and Sanitation – Councillor Zahid Badroodien stated that they are investing approximately R1.8 billion in wastewater treatment infrastructure upgrades, expansions and renewals, this financial year.
The excellent performance of the Kraaifontein Wastewater Treatment Works demonstrates that these investments are delivering tangible results, strengthening environmental resilience, protecting the waterways and supporting the high standard of service, as residents expect. They are encouraged by this achievement and remained focused on building a future-ready water and sanitation system for growing city.