Struggle to get clean water

→ Area has had disruptions and dirty supplies.

- Liezl Human

For nearly 10 years, communities in the Kai !Garib region of the Northern Cape have been plagued by frequent water shortages and dirty tap water as infrastructure crumbles.

Three of the region's largest towns are Kakamas, Keimoes and Kenhardt. It is also the location of the Augrabies Falls National Park. The area is semi-arid on the banks of the Orange River, where the municipality extracts water.

However, the municipality has failed to fix its water purification infrastructure because of financial troubles.

Each year, the department of water and sanitation releases an assessment on drinking water quality and water infrastructure in municipalities across the country.

Over the past few years, the department conducted "numerous investigations" of the municipality and the Kakamas Water Treatment Works (WTW).

The department issued a directive in 2022, for the municipality to improve its water quality and for the municipality to timeously advise its residents when the water is not safe for drinking.

In 2023, Kai !Garib's Blue Drop Score dropped from 71% in 2014, to just 16%. This is far below the minimum target of 31%. All 16 of its water supply systems had high, or critical, risk ratings.

The department has since intervened in the crisis.