South Africa’s drinking water quality is declining since 2014 — nearly half of it is unsafe to drink

South Africa’s drinking water quality has been regressing since 2014 and nearly half of it is microbiologically unsafe for consumption at present, a report by the South African government has found. 

The report, Blue Drop National Report 2023, was released by the Department of Water and Sanitation on December 5, 2023. The document provides comparative analyses and diagnostics to assist water services institutions in focusing on specific areas for improvement.

In South Africa, nine provinces (Eastern Cape Province, Free State Province, Gauteng Province, Kwazulu Natal Province, Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga Province, North West Province, Northern Cape Province and Western Cape Province) provide drinking water to a total population of 48,486,567 people.

The department assessed 958 water supply systems (WSS) across 144 water services authorities (WSA) in the country. For each WSS, the condition of the infrastructure, maintenance, operation, proper treatment processes, proper monitoring and staff expertise were examined.

The Blue Drop audits were conducted in 2022 by 26 audit panels, who noticed that South Africa’s drinking water was getting worse. 

A WSS that achieves more than a 95 per cent Blue Drop score is regarded as excellent and is then allocated the prestigious Blue Drop Certification status.

Water systems in critical state increased 

A total of 277 of 958 (29 per cent) WSS in 62 WSAs were in a critical state in the country, the auditors found. In comparison, 174 WSS in 33 WSAs were in a critical condition in 2014. There has been an overall increase in the number of systems that are in a critical state of performance in 2023 in comparison to 2014.

Out of the 958 WSS, 467 (49 per cent) systems had excellent microbiological quality, 49 (5 per cent) systems had good microbiological quality and 442 (46 per cent) systems had an unacceptable microbiological water quality status, the report found.

There are several reasons why the WSSs fail to produce water that meets microbiological compliance standards. These can be: Poor operations, defective infrastructure, inadequate dosing rates, absence of disinfection chemicals, lack of monitoring, lack of operating and chemistry knowledge and several other root causes, the report said.

The report focused on critical risk areas within water services. From a risk perspective, the national Blue Drop Risk Rating improved from 52.3 per cent in 2022 to 47.15 per cent in 2023. A total of 577 of 958 water supply systems are situated in the low risk category, 184 WSS in the medium risk category, 102 WSS in the high risk category and 95 WSS in the critical risk category.

The Department of Water and Sanitation employed risk analysis to identify, quantify and manage the corresponding risks based on their potential impact on human health. It also aids in the prioritisation and targeting of water service institutions with high-risk water supply systems.

Blue Drop key performance areas

Among the nine provinces, Gauteng has the highest percentage of drinking water systems with excellent or good performance (62 per cent), followed by Western Cape (50 per cent).

The Northern Cape province has the highest percentage of drinking water systems with poor or critical performance (87 per cent). This has deteriorated from 48 per cent in 2014. The percentage of drinking water systems with poor or critical performance in Free State province has also deteriorated markedly to 59 per cent in 2023 from 31 per cent in 2014. 

The Blue Drop Watch Report released earlier this year recorded a continued overall decline in the status of the country’s water supply services. The findings indicated a culture of neglect, noncompliance and systemic failure. 

Way forward

The Blue Drop findings are instrumental in verifying drinking water quality compliance and water supply by each municipality and its water service providers and identifying strengths and failures along with their associated root causes. 

This report informed future action by implementing appropriate regulatory, financial, capacity building, support and governance interventions by various government departments. 

The findings of this report are of sufficient concern that water services become a primary focus point on the national water agenda, necessitating collaborative action by various sector players.

“We move forward knowing that we do not accept ‘being good’ as a norm in the South African water industry; instead, we opt for excellence. The Blue Drop Certification programme has become more than just a subject field for its participants — it has become the accolade of water professionals, in and outside of this beautiful country. Let us continue being inspired by the results,” said Senzo Mchunu, Minister for Water and Sanitation in a press release.