The City’s first Advanced Water Reclamation Plant (AWRP) was crowned as a state-of-the-art facility during an awards ceremony last month.
Following the completion of the City‘s AWRP in December last year, the plant was named the Jury Winner in the Factories and Warehouses category at the prestigious 13th Annual Architizer A+Awards in June, in New York. The awards recognise and reward the world’s best architecture and facilities.
The AWRP is situated next to the Cape Flats Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) in Pelican Park and is a vital part of the City’s groundwater action plan to build Cape Town’s water resilient future. Water reclamation, or water recycling or re-use, is the process of treating wastewater (municipal or industrial) to make it suitable for various beneficial purposes.
According to the Water and Sanitation Directorate’s New Water Programme, the AWRP will play a crucial role in the managed injection of treated secondary effluent into the Cape Flats Aquifer, replenishing this vital groundwater source. The City will abstract water (remove or divert water from its natural source) from the aquifer sustainably, which will then undergo further treatment at potable water treatment plants (WTPs) to meet SANS 241 drinking water standards. The AWRP is a fundamental component of the Cape Flats Aquifer Management Scheme, which is expected to yield up to 54 million litres of water daily.
“The Cape Flats AWRP is a major public-infrastructure investment towards improving water security and climate resilience. Every rand spent on this facility contributes towards building a more drought-resilient Cape Town. This international award shows that South African infrastructure can lead the world not just in advanced functionality, but also in aesthetically pleasing and purposeful design. Just as the building has achieved top honours in design, the City is striving towards implementing top-quality processes as well, once the facility is completed in April 2027.
“Work on the next phase is currently underway, which will see the installation of mechanical and electrical components such as: ozone generators, ultra-violet disinfection, pumps and filter media,” said Mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien. Local civil engineers working in water and wastewater alongside SALT Architects led to the accolade in the Factories and Warehouses category at the A+Awards. Selected from more than 5 000 entries spanning 80 countries, the Cape Flats AWRP is recognised as one of the best-designed buildings in the world in its category.
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