WaterCAN is concerned about reports of poor quality drinking water in Savanna City in Midvaal municipality. Since 4 April 2024, residents have complained about dirty water coming out of their taps.

WaterCAN calls on municipalities to treat complaints about contaminated tap water as urgent, and to share information with the public to give people confidence in their drinking water.

The issue was reported by residents to the municipality who agreed to dispatch a team. However, on 5 April there was still no action or communication with the complainants from the municipality.

“In cases of poor quality tap water it is imperative that all municipalities act with urgency to test water and find the source of the problem. The lack of information from the municipality only increases people’s fears and suspicions,” says Dr Ferrial Adam, WaterCAN Executive Manager.

The Blue Drop Report of 2023, published by the national Department of Water and Sanitation, highlighted that 46% of municipalities are not complying with drinking water standards. “While Midvaal is not one of those municipalities, the challenges of drinking water quality in South Africa must be closely monitored. The situation in Emfuleni has raised fears of water quality. This is why we need open, transparent access to water quality test results conducted by the municipalities across South Africa,” says Adam.

WaterCAN calls on Midvaal to share the outcomes of any investigation into the dirty water as well as to conduct basic water quality tests and share the results publicly.