The general benefit of
partnerships is the combination of strengths of the different
partners. Through this approach, more can be achieved together
than by each partner acting individually. It is commonly
accepted that people at the grass-roots level have the best
understanding of their local situation and are in the best
position to identify the most appropriate solutions to their
problems (this is especially true for the security of water).
However, local solutions have to be viewed from a broader
perspective. The identified solution by a local partner must fit
within the regional, national or international institutional
frameworks. Water, specifically, is a commodity that is woven
throughout our society, from the food producer to the business
and the local water services authority, the ecosystems and us as
residents.
The
Table Mountain Water Source Partnership was founded in 2021 with
the vision to “Improve water security through monitoring and
management and to ensure groundwater resources can continue to
support people and ecosystems in and around the Table Mountain
Water Source Area.”
The founding members are AB InBev, the City of Cape Town, the Danish Embassy, the Department of Water and Sanitation, GreenCape, WWF, University of Cape Town, University of the Western Cape and the Water Research Commission. All these members signed a Collaboration Agreement which sets out the partnership objectives and defines the steps for establishing the partnership to secure groundwater in the water source areas. The members will strive to collaborate on water security, and at the outset, a particular focus is given to groundwater for the period 2021 - 2024. A broadening of scope to surface waters may be added at a later stage of the partnership.
To learn more about the project please also read the blogs Water beneath our feet and Zero to hero? Groundwater to the rescue!
A water
source area is a surface water catchment or groundwater
system that either supplies a relatively large volume of water
for its size or is the primary source of water for a town, city
or industrial activity.
South Africa has 22 water source areas, situated in five provinces. There are also 37 groundwater water source areas around the country, which overlap with key aquifers. These surface and underground water reserves are strategically important for South Africa’s water and economic security – and they require specific attention. Cape Town and surrounding areas fall within two overlapping strategic water source areas – the surface Table Mountain Water Source Area and the groundwater Cape Peninsula and Cape Flats Water Source Area.