WaterCAN says latest Drop reports show water crisis is worsening

By Thapelo Molefe

Civil society organisation WaterCAN has warned that South Africa’s water crisis is worsening, saying the latest government Drop reports confirm long-standing failures in municipal management and infrastructure maintenance.

Reacting to Tuesday’s release of the 2025 Green Drop report and Blue and No Drop progress updates, WaterCAN said the findings reflect a “systemic collapse” in parts of the country’s water and sanitation systems, particularly at local government level.

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“The scale of failure reflected in these reports shows a system that is not being managed with the urgency it requires,” WaterCAN said.

“Communities are living with sewage in their streets and unreliable access to clean water, and that is unacceptable in a constitutional democracy.”

The organisation criticised what it said was a lack of accountability and slow implementation of corrective measures.

“Year after year, the same problems