Long-term Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WC/WDM) Strategy 2025
11 September 2026
As Cape Town continues to grow, it is essential to secure the long-term balance between available water resources and water demand.
About the strategy
The City's Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WC/WDM) Strategy was first approved by Council in 2007 and has been periodically reviewed to reflect changing conditions and lessons learned.
Over the years, the City has made notable progress in implementing water-saving initiatives, including:
- Proactive leak detection and repairs on water infrastructure
- Pressure management across the network
- Meter replacement programmes
- Tariff reviews to promote responsible usage
- Internal leak repairs for indigent households
- Ongoing public education and awareness campaigns
2025 update
The updated Long-term Water Conservation and Water Demand Management (WC/WDM) Strategy was approved in November 2025.
This revised WC/WDM Strategy seeks to overcome institutional challenges, build on experience gained and adapt the City’s approach to align with current socio-political, environmental and urban management imperatives.
The purpose of this updated WC/WDM Strategy is to highlight and ensure the long-term balance between available water resources and water demand, to achieve equity and redistribution of our water resources, to ensure water security for the future, to ensure enough water for our national economic growth, and to ensure water use efficiency. This WC/WDM Strategy will be key to the successful implementation of the Water Strategy (2019).