Wesgro is proud to announce that Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau – a division at Wesgro – has secured the International Water Association's (IWA) 2018 Water Loss Conference.
This water loss reduction speciality conference will be the biennial event’s ninth in a series, and will take place from 7 to 9 May 2018 at the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel. It will be one of the world’s largest water loss conferences and is expected to attract over 500 participants from more than 50 countries.
Many of the world’s leading experts in the field of Non-Revenue Water Management will attend the conference to discuss the latest developments, strategies, techniques and applications of international best practices as well as successful case studies. In addition they will present a one-day pre-conference workshop on 6 May 2018 to provide an introduction to the issue of Non-Revenue Water Management and an overview of the latest IWA Methodology for reducing water losses from Municipal water supply systems.
“The conference is being organised under the auspices of the International Water Association’s Water Loss Specialist Group which has over 1 200 members in over 100 countries. Africa will be the focal point of 2018’s Water Loss Conference, and delegates are already expressing their excitement to return to Cape Town next year. Many successful case studies will be show cased from South Africa which is highly regarded worldwide in the field of water losses and is considered to be one of the leaders in advanced pressure control. Three of the largest advanced pressure control installations in the world have been successfully commissioned in South Africa, two of which are in Cape Town. By sharing their experiences from around the world, delegates attending the event next May will learn to better manage their water supplies and reduce their water losses,” said IWA Water Loss Specialist Group Chairperson Ronnie Mckenzie.
"The IWA Water Loss Conference comes at a critical time considering the environmental challenges the Western Cape is currently facing. We are certain this conference will provide attendees an unparalleled opportunity to share insights and potentially collaborate to find sustainable, long-term solutions to one of the biggest challenges facing, not just the Cape, but regions across the globe,” said Wesgro CEO Tim Harris.
The City is delighted to have this important gathering take place in Cape Town at a time when we are facing an unprecedented drought crisis. As a member of a number of leading international city organisations, we have seen the immense value in learning best practice solutions and ideas from other cities around the world. We are positioning Cape Town as the ideas capital in Africa where it is precisely these kinds of events we want to attract so that this becomes the point where great ideas are discussed and taken all over the world to be implemented. Cities are at the forefront of dealing with the impacts of climate change and drought and it is vital that we host gatherings such as these to bring key experts from around the globe to draw from the knowledge and solutions that have worked in other parts of the world. We look forward to the conference and to learning as much as we can in our goal to build a water resilient city to ensure that our residents and our economy can adapt, survive and grow,” added City of Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille.
“This is a great boost for our conference industry, and water management is especially topical in the Western Cape. We are experiencing a severe drought which is continuing to impact key sectors in our economy such as agriculture. We recently launched the SmartAgri climate change response plan, a partnership with the private sector and academia, to put practical plans in place to address the impact of the changing environment on our economy.
“The water crisis presents an opportunity for innovative solutions, and I am looking forward to the recommendations which will emerge from the IWA’s 2018 Water Loss Conference,” concluded Western Cape Opportunities Minster Alan Winde.