The research examines the direct energy consumption for the provision of urban water services as influenced by external factors such as population growth, surface water runoff variability, available alternatives and the policies that are adopted which ultimately determine the future planning.
It is contended that the modelling process presented integrates energy and water planning for an assessment of water and energy resources required for future growth, and the optimal measures that could be pursued to reconcile the demand for water and the concomitant energy requirements.
The interventions were examined within a context of energy and water planning such that energy considerations or costing could be incorporated within the long term marginal costing of future water and sanitation infrastructure. As such, the modelling process facilitated an exploration of the water–energy nexus in the context of urban municipal water services in Cape Town.