South Africa’s unsafe water supplies: licensing service providers won’t solve the issue

By Tracy-Lynn Field

In many cities and towns across South Africa, water shortages and supply disruptions have become more frequent. Most recent figures show that 33% of all urban water users and 65% of rural users face regular water cut-offs. Nearly half of urban residents now boil or treat their water before drinking it.

South Africa’s water law says everyone has the right to access sufficient water. But 12% of rural people have no access to improved water sources.

The most recent Blue Drop report into the state of South Africa’s water supply systems revealed that 46% were unable to guarantee that their water was safe to drink. The people relying on these systems were exposed to the risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery.

The Green Drop report, which evaluates the state of South Africa’s wastewater treatment works, showed that many of these plants were in