Decline in drinking water quality and in most parts of the country, reports find
Cape Town - Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu released three reports to provide an assessment of the state of the water quality and water services as sewage spillages and failing wastewater treatment works continue to detrimentally affect the environment, livelihood and health of citizens.
According to the reports, released on Wednesday, there has been a decline in drinking water quality and an increase in non-revenue water (the water lost between the point of production and the point of consumption) in most parts of the country.
The watch reports came out after an alarming and deadly cholera outbreak in the country that caused great concern about whether the country’s water was still safe for human consumption.
Mchunu said: “We are observing a sharp decline in the delivery of water and sanitation services, and we are very concerned about this.”
Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) director-general Sean Phillips delved into the three watch/ interim reports that together aim to provide regulatory tools and incentive-based programmes to improve municipal drinking water quality, wastewater management, water conservation and demand management above current standards.
The BDR provides an assessment of the condition of all water distribution infrastructure and drinking water quality. The GDR provides an assessment of the state of all waste water treatment systems.
The NDR provides an assessment of how efficiently water distribution systems in municipalities supply water, without wasting water.
For each drop report, a full assessment is released every two years, and an interim report is released in the alternate year. The full GDR was released last year, while the full BDR will be released in July and the full NDR in September.
The 2023 BDR indicates that the drinking water produced from some municipal water treatment systems during the 2021/2022 municipal financial year did not meet the SANS 241 standard and could on occasion have posed a potential health risk. Where this is the case municipalities must inform consumers.
“The public can safely consume water from their taps if their municipalities indicate that the water being provided is being tested and meets the requirements of SANS 24,” Phillips said.
Isaac Sileku, the DA Western Cape’s spokesperson on local government, added that according to the reports, the Western Cape outperforms other provinces in several key areas related to water management, one being having the lowest non-revenue water in South Africa.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za