The newly opened control room is already helping to improve response times for urgent infrastructure repairs by monitoring the telemetry alarm system installed across the sewer and water network to provide digital early-warnings.
Over R7,4m has been invested in this digital hub, with staff actively monitoring 401 sewer pump stations, 58 water pump stations, and 60 reservoirs – the vast majority of the infrastructure network. The system is able to directly SMS response teams when issues arise after hours.
‘During my visit to the control room, I was impressed by how digital coordination is enabling live monitoring of the water and sewer network. The tracking system is helping to quickly dispatch teams to attend to infrastructure performance issues. We are also reducing responses to false alarms by as much as 50% in the first few months of operation, ensuring more efficient use of our teams attending to faults. The most exciting part about these investments, is the direct benefit to communities of faster City responses and reduced impact of sewer and water overflows,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
The new control room is part of a suite of interventions to bring down the impact of sewer spills on communities and the environment. Other interventions included:
· Investments in resourcing rapid response teams and fleet
· Generator and UPS investments to mitigate power failures across the sewer and water network
· Quadrupling sewer pipe replacement to around 100km annually, and doubling water pipe replacement to 50km
· Proactively jet-cleaning over 200km of sewers annually to mitigate blockages and overflows
· An SA-record infrastructure investment, with 75% set to directly benefit lower income households and communities
‘Overall, the City will invest R5,3 billion in water and sanitation infrastructure for 2024/25 alone, more than double the first budget of the current local government term (R2,3 billion in 2022/23). In total, the City will invest R16,5 billion in this category of infrastructure over three years, totalling 41% of Cape Town’s medium-term capital budget. This includes R1 billion in upgrades to sewer pump stations,’ said Councillor Badroodien.
