AfriForum’s independent blue and green drop report results shows that 87% of municipal drinking water is safe.
Supplied by Afriforum
This independent result of 87% is down nine points from 96% in the official blue and green drop report from 2023.
This year’s independent green drop results compiled by Afriforum indicate that only 13% of processed sewage meets the minimum standards for discharge into a water resource. On top of this mismanagement of the water supply chain represented by these figures predicts that South Africans can not only expect higher costs for the treatment of drinking water in the future, but also the existence of an increasing risk that consumers will be exposed to unsafe drinking water.
AfriForum’s blue and green drop report contains the results of water quality samples that AfriForum’s network of 160 branches nationwide took during August from municipal drinking water (blue drop) as well as the outflow of processed sewage water (green drop) from local wastewater treatment plants.
This is the 12th year that AfriForum has compiled this report. This year’s tests examined the presence or absence of various chemical and bacteriological components. The tests determine, among other things, the presence of the bacteria E. Coli, which can cause diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and even kidney failure, and faecal coliform bacteria, which can cause diseases such as enteric fever (also known as typhoid fever), liver inflammation and dysentery.
The 2024 independent blue drop results in a nutshell:
- Tests done on: Municipal drinking water
- Number of towns/cities tested: 210
- National result: 87% of drinking water is safe for human consumption
The 2024 green drop results in a nutshell:
- Tests done on: Treated waste water at waste water treatment works
- Number of waste water treatment works tested: 150
- National result: 13% complies with minimum standards
Lambert de Klerk, AfriForum’s manager for Environmental Affairs says, “AfriForum believes that the water crisis essentially stems from poor management. Therefore, the only successful solution to the water crisis and the ultimate sustainable management of South Africa’s water resources lies in cooperation and alignment between all levels of government, different government departments, the private sector and community organisations.”
