By Thapelo Molefe
A number of municipalities are under scrutiny after E. coli contamination was detected in drinking water at schools within their jurisdictions, raising concerns about compliance with basic water quality standards.
The affected municipalities include Chief Albert Luthuli in Mpumalanga; Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Enoch Mgijima, Makana, Sundays River Valley and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro in the Eastern Cape; Matjhabeng and Nketoana in the Free State; Mpofana and Umvoti in KwaZulu-Natal; and the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape.
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The findings come from the WaterCAN Schools Water Testing Project, which identified 20 schools with dangerously high levels of E. coli in their drinking water, out of 72 schools that submitted test results.
WaterCAN said the contamination points to possible faecal pollution and raised concerns about the safety of water supplied to public institutions, particularly schools.
The organisation said it has written to the affected municipalities, calling for urgent action, including confirmatory testing, an investigation into the source of contamination, and immediate corrective measures.
WaterCAN Citizen Science and Training Coordinator Nomsa Daele said the findings are particularly concerning given existing compliance issues in some of the municipalities.
“Of deep concern is that in some of the municipalities where biological elements were found in school drinking water, they were also flagged for failing to meet basic compliance requirements in the Blue Drop Report released in 2023,” Daele said.
Makana, Chief Albert Luthuli, Sundays River Valley and Nketoana were previously identified as not meeting the required South African National Standards for drinking water quality.
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According to the 2025 Green Drop Report, the proportion of wastewater systems in a critical state has increased from 39% (334 systems in 2022) to 47% (396 systems in 2025).
The report also found a decline in systems performing at good or excellent levels, with Green Drop certifications dropping from 22 to 14.
The Blue Drop and No Drop progress assessments for 2023 to 2024 also show only marginal improvement in drinking water systems nationally, with low-risk systems increasing slightly from 60.2% to 61.9%, while critical-risk systems declined from 9.9% to 7.9%.
The Department of Water and Sanitation warned that critical and high-risk systems remain a serious concern requiring urgent intervention.
It also noted that municipal performance remains uneven and that many systems are affected by poor maintenance, non-compliance with treatment standards, and weak operational capacity at local level.
WaterCAN said the overlap between past compliance failures and current contamination findings suggests ongoing weaknesses in water treatment and distribution systems.
The organisation has urged municipalities to act without delay to prevent potential health risks, particularly in schools where children are exposed daily to the water supply.
“Given the potential risk to children’s health, we urgently need a prompt response and action on this matter,” Daele said.
The WaterCAN Schools Water Testing Project allows participating schools to test their own water using citizen science kits and upload results to the MapMyWater portal, which provides real-time analysis and public access to data.
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The project has expanded in 2026, with nearly double the number of schools participating compared to the previous year and coverage now extending across all nine provinces.
WaterCAN said it will continue engaging municipalities and monitoring responses as it pushes for urgent intervention to ensure safe drinking water in affected schools.
