WRC Projects K5/2412 & K5/2413:

Reference group meeting

Dr Kirsty Carden

8 September 2015

University of Cape Town

2WSUD in SA – the narrative

3WSD transition framework for South Africa

4

5Grounding the WSD concept in SA

• Tools – guidelines, manuals etc.

• Transfer – capacity building

• Tactics – engaging stakeholders

• Trials – pilot implementations

6Way forward – ‘agents for change’

• Technological path dependency / Reliable science and data

• Common vision / Champions and/or committed collective

• Institutional fragmentation / Bridging organisations

• Organisational responsibilities / Accountability and targets

• Political incentives and/or disincentives / Market receptivity

• Organisational commitment / Strategic funding and planning

• Community capacity to participate / Socio-political capital

Create Learning Alliances where stakeholders can engage

in collective sense-making and vision-building

7‘Reliable science’ - WRC Project K5/2412

A feasibility study to evaluate the potential of using

Water Sensitive Design principles to strengthen

planning for water sensitive cities of the future

Overall aim: to test the WSUD concept and framework

within a selected catchment(s) and/or municipality(ies)

in South Africa

8Main objectives / research questions

Investigate means of developing WSD practice in South

Africa – through adoption of various disciplinary

perspectives: engineering, environmental goods and

services, social / institutional, property studies etc.

• What kinds of WSD interventions are appropriate at an

urban catchment scale?

• How can these interventions make a difference to both

the quality and quantity (flows) of adjacent surface and

groundwater?

9Methods

• Intensive catchment study / baseline assessment - Liesbeek

• Assess other sites for identification of opportunities /

constraints for WSD implementation

• Determine economic costs and benefits

• Build stakeholder relationships (Learning Alliances)

• Exploring architectural knowledge / influences in WSD

• Develop decision-support system to provide direction with

WSD implementation

10Deliverables

• Research methods (30 Nov 2014)

• Opportunities and options for WSD (28 Feb 2015)

• Baseline assessment of selected catchments (30 Jun 2015)

• Draft report on design of WSD elements (30 Nov 2015)

• Annual progress report (29 Feb 2016)

• Draft final report - WSD design and costing (30 Nov 2016)

• Final report (31 Jan 2017)

11Associated research

• Baseline catchment studies

• Groundwater studies

• WSD options

• Stakeholder engagement (linked with CoP

programme)

12Baseline catchment studies

• Viability of rain / stormwater harvesting - Liesbeek River catchment

• Quantifying the potential for potable water savings -Liesbeek River catchment

• Performance of stormwater ponds

• Value capture and WSD

• Amenity functions / social perceptions of stormwater ponds

• WSD decision-support system

• WSD and industrial development in Saldanha Bay

• Impact of decentralised groundwater use on CoCT water demand

13Groundwater studies

• Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for the

management of stormwater on the Cape Flats

• Groundwater modelling at site-specific scale

• Groundwater quality with EC profiling

• Groundwater flow system in CFA

• Groundwater recharge estimation (CFA)

• Risk assessment of contamination of groundwater

resources in the CFA

• Groundwater flooding with CFA as a case study

14WSD options

• Treatment efficacy of permeable pavements

• Evaluation of biofilter systems

• Attenuation of peak stormwater flow using natural wetlands

• Exploring architectural knowledge in Water Sensitive Design

• Permeable pavements as stormwater management / rainwater harvesting options for residential areas

• Review of Cape Town’s recreational water (‘spray’) parks

15

WSD technology Current findings and/or progress with research

Rainwater harvesting Reducing municipal water demand, with negligible stormwater

management benefits. Only financially viable for minority of

property owners, more affluent households.

Stormwater harvesting Reducing municipal water demand, decreasing total runoff

volumes, offering amenity benefits and attenuating peak flows.

Water efficient devices Significant impact on reducing water demand, specifically in the

domestic sector (could potentially reduce indoor water use by

nearly 50%)

Greywater harvesting Reduce demand for potable water by meeting outdoor water

requirements – particularly in terms of seasonal variation.

SuDS – e.g. Permeable

pavement systems

Improving quality of polluted stormwater run-off in urban areas,

but also offer potential for storing water for a range of fit-for-

purpose uses.

Technology-specific findings

16Interactions between different WSD technologies

17Final report - Design of WSD elements

• Water sensitive infrastructure

• Conceptualising water sensitive design

• Groundwater as a resource / Managed Aquifer

Recharge

• SuDS options

• Environmental system design and planning aspects

• Drivers / barriers to design, implementation and

operation of WSD interventions

18

Task

2016 2017

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1

MPhil study (Construction

Economics)

MPhil study (Architecture)

MA study (Social Anthropology)

Write draft report

Write final report

Detailed work programme

19Capacity building – K5/2412

Forename(s) Surname Gender Race Qualification Institution Country of origin

Lloyd Fisher-Jeffes Male White PhD UCT South Africa

Benjamin Mauck Male White PhD UCT South Africa

Alastair Rohrer Male White MSc(Eng) UCT UK

Christoph de Chavonnes Vrugt Male White MA UCT Namibia

Gregory Mallet Male White MPhil UCT South Africa

Anna Crisp Female White MSc UCT South Africa

Siyamthanda Gxokwe Male African MSc UWC South Africa

Danica Carnow Female Coloured MSc UWC South Africa

Nangamso Tuswa Male African BSc(Hons) UWC South Africa

Tieho Sekonyela Male African BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Lauren Brooks Female Coloured BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Catherine Atkinson Female White BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Raadhiya Perin Female Indian BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

20‘Engaging stakeholders’ - WRC Project K5/2413

Development and management of a Water Sensitive

Design Community of Practice programme

Overall aim is to “strengthen the researcher /

stakeholder and implementer interface in order to

leverage partnerships and facilitate, manage and

document technology transfer opportunities from the

planning and design phases through to the piloting

(adapting) and implementation phases”

21Social learning and Learning Alliances

“Communities of practice are groups of people who have common

concerns and pursue knowledge through regular interactions” (Armitage, 2008)

• Enabling environment through social learning

• Shared interest, joint activities, discussion

• Enhanced generation of knowledge through collaborative learning

processes

• Adaptive management embedded in social learning processes

“Learning Alliances platforms that bring together stakeholders from a range

of institutions: municipalities, service providers, universities, NGOs, user

groups – to think and learn, using action research to test ideas” (Butterworth et al., 2011)

22Overview of progress

1. WSD project scoping – identifying drivers and

barriers (currently being finalised)

2. Social learning and Learning Alliance activities

3. Platforms to drive WSD mechanisms

4. WSD dissemination activities

5. Identifying and understanding role players

23Social learning and Learning Alliances

• WSD working group and development of WSD strategy for City of Cape Town

• Inclusion of urban drainage in the hydrosocial contract

• Enabling a Community of Practice: network dynamics in building a water sensitive catchment (Liesbeek Life)

• Facilitating Green Municipal Infrastructure Services Round Table – SACN, ICLEI

• Umgeni Water Initiative - integrated water and sanitation systems for rural / peri-urban areas

‘Transition arenas’ for stakeholders to engage in

collective sense-making, articulate realities / expectations

as well as build a vision

24Platforms to drive WSD mechanisms

• Dialogue sessions, e.g. ‘Urban agriculture and water’

/ role of WSD – PHA Food and farming campaign

• Development of resource guidelines for greywater

use and management

• Integrating WSD frameworks with standards, policy,

rating systems

• Water Hub, Franschhoek

• Links to SDGs

25WSD dissemination activities

1. Awareness-raising workshops / seminars – WSD /

SuDS training

2. Website / brochure

3. Engagement on policy – e.g. presentations to

Parliamentary portfolio committees

4. Water saving game (awaiting funding)

5. Conference papers / journal articles etc.

26Identifying / understanding role players

• WSD Lighthouse activities – monitoring research progress,

Reference groups, co-hosting workshops etc.

• International research collaborations – EU Framework

Horizon 2020; BRICS STI collaboration etc.

• Strengthening and broadening researcher base – e.g. Future

Water

27Deliverables – K5/2413

Title Target date

Interim Report 2014/15 submitted

Annual report 2014/15 submitted

Interim Report 2015/16 submitted

Annual report 2015/16 submitted

Interim Report 2016/17 submitted

Annual report 2016/17 31/01/2017

Interim Report 2017/18 31/07/2017

Annual report 2017/18 31/01/2018

Final report 28/02/2019

28Capacity building – K5/2413

Forename(s) Surname Gender Race Qualification Institution Country of origin

David Ellis Male White MSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Andrew Bennett Male White MSc UCT South Africa

Lucky Mbengwa Male African BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Anthony Fry Male White BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Ross Roberts Male White BSc(Eng) UCT Zimbabwe

Waldo Strydom Male White BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

Matthew Hurworth Male White BSc(Eng) UCT South Africa

29Event / activity Topic Objective of event / activity Date Intended audience Partner

Dialogue sessionLocal government

integration and WSD

Workshop the WSUD framework

with local authority officialsSep 2016

Local government

officials; planners,

urban designers etc.

SALGA

2016 Conf on

Sustainable Cities &

Human Settlements

‘Water Sensitive

South African

settlements’

Disseminate research results,

raise awareness about WSD

5 to 7 Oct

2016

Municipal engineers,

consultants, water

experts

WSD / SuDS training

seminar – Knysna

Sharing experiences

in WSD

Disseminate research results,

raise awareness about WSD Late Oct

2016

Engineers, water

experts

Biowise

CSE India Training

programme

WSUD and planning Co-host and contribute training

material

6 to 9

Nov 2016

Water sector

professionals

WRC

Launch of WSD

survey

On-line WSD survey Establish levels of knowledge

and interest in WSD

Jan 2017

(tbc)

Interested

stakeholders

Practitioners’

seminar

Local Climate

Solutions for Africa

Conf (ICLEI)

Workshop and/or presentations

with input from practitioners

Mar 2017

(tbc)

WSD practitioners

Peri-urban 2017

Conference

Host and/or

organisation;

scientific review

To engage on approaches and

research strategy while sharing

SA approaches

Jul 2017

(tbc)

Local and

international

stakeholders

WRC

14th ICUD

Conference, Prague

Conference paper

presentations

Disseminate research results,

raise awareness about WSD 10 to 15

Sep 2017

IMESA 2018

Conference, SA

Conference paper

presentation

Showcase student research late Oct

2017 (tbc)

Municipal engineers,

consultants

Workshop series 2 –

one day workshops

in cities around SA

WSD policy

requirements and

challenges

National, local and inter-

governmental policy

requirements in terms of WSD

late Nov

2017 (tbc)

Relevant

government and

other institutions,

WRC