Report Shows Decline in Quality of South Africa's Drinking Water

The 2023 Blue Drop Watch Report has revealed that there has been a deterioration in drinking water quality since the last blue drop report was done.

Presenting the 2023 report, Water and Sanitation Director-General Dr Sean Phillips noted that in the 2012 Blue Drop Report, only 10% of municipalities had bad or poor microbiological water quality, as opposed to 50% in this sample. "This indicates that there has been a deterioration in drinking water quality since the last report was done," Phillips said.

This comes after a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal resulted in multiple deaths, wiith an independent report commissioned by WaterCAN - an initiative by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse - finding that water from three out of four taps examined in the area produced water deemed unsafe to drink due to high levels of bacteria.

This article originally appeared on AllAfrica.

Image via Daily Maverick.