Swartland Municipality’s Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) rates among the most well performing facilities in the Western Cape, according to the newly released Green Drop Western Cape 2022 Report. According to this report, these facilities rate among the top 3 (shared with Overstrand & Drakentein) in the Western Cape.
In 2013 Swartland’s overall performance was scored 72%. In the newest report its overall performance has improved to 89%.
The municipality said this improvement is the result of years of hard work and investment in its infrastructure services.
“The proper functioning, planning, upgrading and maintenance of these services are critical,” it said in a statement. “If this is not in place, it could result in service delivery failure on a catastrophic level as we see almost daily in other municipalities in South Africa, where raw sewerage is polluting rivers, and towns.”
Since 2013, the Swartland Municipality has built new WWTW facilities in Malmesbury and in the Riebeek Valley. New facilities are currently being constructed in Moorreesburg (expected completion mid 2023) and Darling (expected completion end of 2022).
Once all these projects are completed, the Municipality will have invested approximately R342 million into its wastewater infrastructure over the past 10 years, from 2013 to 2023.
This brings them within reaching distance of obtaining green drop certification status. Green drop status is awarded to facilities and municipalities with an overall score of 90% or more. The goal is to reach and maintain green drop status within the next two years.
“Ensuring sufficient bulk services, like WWTW, is essential for environmental health and safety and economic growth,” added Executive Mayor, Harold Cleophas. “Investors are looking for municipalities that can accommodate growth and support its investments with adequate infrastructure and service delivery.”