Since 2020 Umvoto has been involved the action research Restoring the Waterways in the Philippi Horticultural Area project, led by Stellenbosch University Water Institute. This exciting action research project combines two-parts: collaborative water governance and physical clearance and restoration of part of the waterway network within the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA). The first part, centred on water governance, aims to understand how communities within the PHA value, and engage, with the water they use through the use of participatory GIS, interviews and workshops. The aims of the second-part, focused on waterway restoration, is to rehabilitate the sections of the surface water network, consisting of canals and slote, in three locations: Edith Stephens Wetland, PHA farmland and Schaapskraal. Ultimately, it hoped that through better governance and improved surface water, that any negative impacts on the Cape Flats Aquifer within the PHA will be reduced.