Water purity plummets

TESTS SHOCK: 13% NATIONALLY IS UNSAFE FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION → 87% waste treatment works’ outflow below the standard.

- Marizka Coetzer

The quality of South Africa's drinking water is dropping drastically, with AfriForum's independent blue and green drop 2024 report finding the country's water systems, particularly wastewater treatment works, has deteriorated.

The report, which was launched earlier this week, revealed that 13% of water nationally is not safe for human consumption.

"The percentage of tests that pointed to drinking water that is unsafe for human consumption over these five years were 3% in 2020 (five out of 178 tests), 2% in 2021 (four out of 188 tests), 4% in 2022 (six out of 170 tests), 4% (eight out of 193 tests) in 2023 and currently 13% (28 out of 210 tests)," said Lambert de Klerk, manager for environmental affairs at AfriForum.

Only 13% of these (20 out of 150 tests) met the minimum standards for discharge into a water resource in 2024.

The outflow from the vast majority of wastewater treatment works (87% or 130 out of 150 tests) does not meet the prescribed standards.

Compared to 2023, when 81% of tests at wastewater treatment plants indicated pollution, this is an increase of six percentage points, said De Klerk.