Cape Town raises the bar: Construction begins on Potsdam WWTW upgrade

Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, visited the Potsdam Wastewater Treatment Works yesterday to mark the start of construction on this major R5,2bn upgrade ($279 million) – the Western Cape’s second largest infrastructure project.

According to their official statement, the City aims to finalise the upgrade in 2027, with the operational trial starting in 2026.

Also, the City’s goal is to steadily restore the environmental health of the Milnerton Lagoon through a combination of infrastructure upgrades and dredging of the waterbody to remove pollution build-up in sediment. 

“The R5,2bn Potsdam upgrade is a critical part of our plan to restore the environmental health of Milnerton Lagoon, which is a non-negotiable for the City. The aim is to steadily close off pollution sources to the lagoon over time, building up to the ultimate goal of dredging the water body to remove the sediment containing the decades-long build-up of pollution,” said Hill-Lewis.

“The installation of cutting-edge wastewater treatment tech at Potsdam will be dovetailed with the completion of dredging at the lagoon, in around two years.”

“This is a Priority Programme of this administration, and we are closely tracking the multi-billion rand upgrades to Potsdam and the surrounding sewer network to ensure these are completed timeously.”

Cape Town is massively ramping up infrastructure investment, with a 223% increase in its Water and Sanitation infrastructure budget over three years, from R2,3 billion in 2022/23 to R7,8 billion in 2025/26.