Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis of Cape Town, visited the Philippi Wellfield and checked on progress of the ongoing Water Treatment Works (WTW). He visited the site personally and observed the work. This project is one of the major efforts put by the City of Cape Town to secure new fresh water supply for the future generation.
After its completion the Philippi wellfield will deliver 10 million litres of clean drinking water per day into the supply system of the City of Cape Town. The facility will use water treatment technologies such as ultra-filtration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and ultraviolet (UV) to ensure that the water meet the highest global drinking water standards.
Construction of Philippi Wellfield site began last year in the month of July. According to the civil works valued at R181 million the work is scheduled to be complete by Sept 2026. The electrical and mechanical works related to the project, will follow the water supply plan in coming three years, from 2028.
Philippi Wellfield is one of the essential five wellfields projects of the City of Cape Town. Its work is under development and is expected to be fully ready and will commission between the years 2030-31. This marks a broader vision of New Water Programme of the city.
Furthermore, another development work of the Water and Sanitation Department of the city, ‘Hanover Park Wellfield’ is also in progress. The park is linked to Philippi’s main pipeline and will get complete by the end of this year.
Watching the progress of the Philippi Wellfield, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said that the project is part of a bigger plan. The City of Cape Town has decided to deliver 300 million litres of drinking water from new sources by the end of this decade.
Upon his visit to the site, Lewis noted that the construction of this wellfield will ensure the future water security, and the City of Cape Town will never have to face the water crisis, that they have been through in 2017.
The new water treatment work is making significant progress in Philippi. It will be an impressive plant with best global technology focusing of water filtration.
MMC for Water and Sanitation – Councillor Zahid Badroodien said that beyond drinking water this project will also strengthen:
- the aquifer by enhancing water quality
- stabilise groundwater levels
- reduce the risk of salinity (which is linked to climate change and sea-level rise)
Philippi Wellfield work aims to provide clean and safe water to Capetonians in future. As it has the ability to find alternate sources to provide clean, reliable supply, while protecting the environment.