With future-proofed infrastructure, sustainability and responsible environmental stewardship at the forefront of its design, Waterfall City has a compelling value proposition for those looking to live and work in a world-class smart city. With innovation, along with the welfare of people and the planet at the core of its operations, the development has positioned itself as a mindful partner in the residential and commercial sector, providing integrated and seamless connectivity, energy efficient building practices, astute water and waste management, and future-fit road infrastructure.
SMART CITY CONNECTIVITY
Creating and managing a development like Waterfall City takes careful planning across various aspects, including the critical component of connectivity. To this end, the City features integrated fibre optic and wireless telecommunications infrastructure that meets the global standard of uninterrupted superfast communication. Besides 33 strategically placed cell masts, it boasts a dedicated fibre optic cable link between the development and the Teraco Data Environments in Johannesburg, so that Waterfall City is not reliant on other third parties for connectivity, and open accessibility is stretched to the extreme.
Currently, there is 714km of underground ducting across Waterfall City and the network is fully redundant, resulting in limited to no down time. Parallel streams of network infrastructure have been installed, so that if a fibre cable is broken during excavation, there is another backup fibre cable to which Internet and voice traffic can be redirected. All possible connectivity risks have been mitigated, including the ongoing scourge of load-shedding, where backup generators have been installed to provide support to primary generators. Additionally, the entire connectivity layer is run on DC power, which completely removes the risks associated with power spikes from Eskom.
Underpinned by the uninterrupted integrated fibre optic and wireless telecommunications infrastructure, Waterfall City uses data-driven communications to enhance community satisfaction.
The Go Waterfall app, developed specifically for those living and working in Waterfall City, has become part of daily life in the precinct, creating a more tightly-knit community. Waterfall City residents and staff can use the app to stay abreast of the latest events, order groceries online for door-to-door delivery, listen to Waterfall City podcasts and even take a geotagged photograph of a pothole, a security risk, or accident and submit it through the app.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOCUS
Waterfall City has adopted a strong environmentally-conscious approach to planning and development when it comes to energy. The intention is to keep the carbon footprint small, air pollution low, and energy efficiency high. Given the greenfield nature of the development and how almost every building in Waterfall City is, in effect, a new build, it was an ideal opportunity to implement passive climate design principles and introduce green innovation for greater sustainability.
To date, Waterfall City has 27 green-rated buildings. Passive energy measures applied to the building envelope and use of glass, in addition to active systems, like lighting and heating, have been implemented to work in unison with one another, with solar being the last step. Illustrating this, Mall of Africa boasts the world’s largest rooftop solar PV/diesel integrated plant, which covers most of the available roof space, approximately 45 000m², and the energy generated is used to power part of the mall’s daily operations.
Meanwhile, the newly-completed Nexus 1 building has been certified by the Green Building Council of South Arica (GBCSA) as the first Net Zero Carbon Building in Waterfall City. Its efficient design and solar power system ensure that there is enough renewable energy to meet the building’s needs, resulting in zero operational carbon emissions.
Residents are also encouraged to build passive climate design homes that are thermally efficient, using solar geysers and panels, energy-efficient lighting, double glazing, insulation and low energy consumption fittings and appliances. As a result, owners are starting to see the long-term cost benefits and much higher resale values. In addition, developments such as Waterfall Country Estate, Waterfall Country Village, Waterfall Valley and The Polofields use piped LP gas as a highly effective alternative to traditional electricity.
Further enhancing the energy environment is the fact that there are six sub-stations in Waterfall City: three dedicated to commercial users, two for residential users, and another sub-station focused on Vantage Data Centers’ first-ever African campus. In total, these sub-stations see Eskom supplying Waterfall City with 180MW (megawatts) of power.
FULFILLING GREEN AMBITIONS THROUGH DATA ANALYSIS
In 2020, Attacq partnered with GCX, the sustainability business specialists, to implement an Eco-Analytics Dashboard, which allows the company to monitor the environmental and financial elements that contribute to Waterfall City’s carbon footprint in real-time.
Innovations such as this allow for improved reporting and greater insight into how the buildings are performing as standalone assets. In this way, the developers have been able to work together with clients to change behaviours, or implement initiatives that reduce consumption, individual carbon footprints and, ultimately, their cost of occupancy.
Attacq also installed a scientific grade weather station in 2020 to provide access to local climate patterns. This data enables engineers to design air conditioning and ventilation systems tailored for the local conditions. Eventually, a weather feature linked to this station will be added to the GO Waterfall app, as an alert to residents who may choose to adjust their in-house units to better climatise to the weather conditions of the day.
WATER-WISE STRATEGIES
Flooding and erosion control are significant challenges when it comes to stormwater management in any development. One of the ways in which Waterfall City has mitigated this, is through the building of nine attenuation dams that have become part of its 130ha greenbelt. There is the large attenuation dam within the Waterfall Country Village Estate, and 17 smaller ones across the rest of the development. These carefully designed civil structures blend into the natural landscape and play a critical role in controlling the flow of rainwater throughout the development. In addition, a number of specific species of fish have been introduced to the main dam to support the natural process of keeping it healthy and creating a thriving ecosystem.
To conserve water, a precious resource, Waterfall City’s landscaping focuses on indigenous, water-wise plants. Waterfall City furthermore has a water use licence that allows for irrigation of common areas of the development using water from the Jukskei River. Dirty river water is pumped into an ozone water treatment plant and used for irrigation and water features in the public spaces. On a busy day, the plant treats approximately two million litres of water.
Over and above this, as part of the development’s wider sustainability efforts, residents are encouraged to install JoJo tanks, using their gutters for harvesting rainwater. Many of the commercial buildings in Waterfall City also have rainwater harvesting systems in place. This includes Deloitte, with 270kl-worth of rainwater harvesting storage, and Mall of Africa, with 2 200kl of stored water.
FORWARD-THINKING WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waterfall City’s waste management processes – an integral aspect of creating a sustainable environment in a smart city – focus on diverting waste from landfills and creating a circular economy.
Starting with organic waste, Waterfall City employs the revolutionary Heron IVC (in-vessel composter) machine. It can process up to 80 000kg of food waste per month, to help the Waterfall City community fight the carbon battle while creating a nutrient-rich fertiliser for the development’s gardens, parks, and fields. So far, the food waste from Mall of Africa as well as the Waterfall Wilds and Polofields Crossing retail centres is being processed on a monthly basis. By putting this programme in place to compost food waste, Waterfall City aims to radically reduce the methane gases produced by landfilled food waste.
Waterfall City furthermore aims to create a centralised waste management facility where residents can drop off their recyclables, including e-waste. Once opened, the facility will geotag recycling bins throughout the city for smart route planning of bin collections.
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATIONS
Ideally located in the centre of Gauteng, Waterfall City offers easy access to all key areas in the province with three of the country’s busiest highways intersecting on the property. The Buccleuch Interchange on its southern boundaries, and the Allandale Interchange, which is one of the largest free-flowing interchanges in the country, towards its northern boundaries, provide thousands of motorists free-flowing movement into the Waterfall City development from Johannesburg’s main arterial highway, the N1.
More than R1 billion has already been spent on upgrading the ancillary road network to improve access to Waterfall City, while the high quality, well-maintained internal road infrastructure was developed in consultation with professional town planning and traffic engineers.
In addition to the R350 million Allandale Interchange upgrade, the construction of Bridal Veil Street, including the bridge across the N1, has significantly improved traffic flow. The Woodmead offramp has also been upgraded, and construction of the K60 is imminent. Further to these major routes, a series of road networks has been developed throughout the precinct while all existing roads have also received an upgrade. Recent additions to Waterfall City’s road infrastructure include Polofields Drive, Waterfall Boulevard and the K111. These have helped to ease traffic congestion for all Waterfall City commuters and, with Waterfall Common Services Company (WCSC) intervening quickly to maintain the standards of Waterfall City’s roads, they are kept in top condition and as safe as possible.
Furthermore, WCSC continually monitors all the streetlights in the area. If there is a problem, it is resolved within 48 hours. And, to help residents navigate the sprawling Waterfall City environment, the company maintains a series of wayfinding signs.
FUELLING GROWTH
Literally fuelling the Waterfall City environment is a handful of filling stations strategically dotted throughout the area. While there are currently a BP, an Engen, and three Sasol filling stations to choose from, Waterfall City is in the process of building more. This ongoing growth is critical to cater for demand as the development continues to evolve and become Gauteng’s destination of choice for living, business and leisure.
