Low water consumption in award-winning Green Building

Earlier today (25 October 2017), Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille and officials of the Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) conducted a site visit to the new Green Building at the Karl Bremer Hospital site in Bellville. The building will save an estimated 1.1 million litres a year in potable water through various water savings methods.

This R152 million facility, which was completed in July this year, provides office accommodation for 320 Western Cape Department of Health staff members.

The building uses less water, generates less waste, and provides healthier working conditions, compared to other office buildings of a similar size. The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) awarded the building a 5-Star Green Star SA design rating , as well as the first GBCSA Socio-Economic Category Pilot Award.

The building features a blackwater treatment plant which cleans sewerage water so that it can be reused in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, as well as in the sewerage flushing system. HVAC waste water is also harvested and re-used. While storm water runs off most urban buildings into municipal drains, the surroundings of the Green Building have been designed to facilitate the infiltration of storm water into the ground.

As immovable asset manager for the Western Cape Government (WCG), DTPW is committed to continually improving the environmental sustainability of its property holdings. All these efforts also help to give effect to the demand-side interventions of the WCG Water Business Continuity Plan to reduce water consumption during the current drought and beyond. 

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