EDGES congratulates Emma Luker on finishing her MSc this summer!  Emma’s thesis is titled “Transitioning towards water supply diversification : possibilities for groundwater in Cape Town, South Africa” and can be read here.

Summary: New options for urban water management are being considered as cities experience increasing stress on their water resources. In the City of Cape Town, there are plans for new groundwater supply development. However, there are significant obstacles in adding new water sources into the supply chain. This thesis presents a study about the possibilities for groundwater in Cape Town from the expert perspective. The first chapter of this work outlines the motivations and barriers for future groundwater use. This chapter emphasizes the benefits of groundwater for water security, while maintaining that unclear groundwater responsibilities present significant challenges. The second chapter explores an existing groundwater scheme and presents three lessons learned for future groundwater policy development. The main goal of this thesis is to provide insight into the dynamics associated with new water supplies, and sustainable groundwater use in particular, when discussing changes in the way that urban water is managed.