From Day Zero to direct potable reuse: Water Security Africa programme spotlights proven utility playbooks to cut losses and strengthen supply

CAPE TOWN --&nbspWater Security Africa, co-located with Enlit Africa (19–21 May 2026, CTICC), has announced its full programme, centred on utility and municipal playbooks from regions that have faced acute water stress and responded with measurable operational change.
With sub-Saharan Africa projected to face a 50% gap between water supply and demand by 2030, utilities are under increasing pressure to reduce losses, diversify supply and strengthen operational resilience.

The SAICE CPD-accredited programme focuses on two hard realities: persistent water losses across urban networks and the growing need for diversified and resilient water sources.. Over three days, utility executives, city leaders and technical specialists will share approaches to loss reduction, asset management, smart metering, reuse and desalination, with a focus on implementation pathways, governance and delivery models.

Key programme themes include:

Reducing non-revenue water through targeted leak detection, pressure management, smart metering and performance-led delivery models

Building resilient supply through fit-for-purpose reuse and desalination, including when modular systems make sense and how projects move from concept to commissioning

Strengthening municipal execution by aligning policy intent with local implementation, licensing and operational capacity

The programme also features country spotlights with operational lessons from:

Cape Town: Post-Day Zero recovery strategies and the operational discipline required to sustain long-term resilience

Windhoek: The world’s longest-running direct potable reuse programme and the institutional structures that make reuse investment-ready.

Kampala: Performance-driven approaches to reducing losses while expanding supply capacity

Nairobi and South African municipalities: Accelerating delivery through smart metering rollouts, pipeline prioritisation and partnership models

“Cities cannot engineer their way out of water stress with one silver bullet,” said Claire Volkwyn, Head of Content, VUKA Group “What works is operational execution: reducing losses, strengthening networks and building supply resilience with solutions that can be financed and delivered.”

Confirmed speakers include Emmanuel Khomela (ERWAT), Patrick Hlabela (Department of Water and Sanitation),  Hilton Smith (Drakenstein Local Municipality) and additional municipal, utility and industry leaders across the programme.