A new report by AfriForum has revealed that a large percentage of samples of municipal drinking water show it is safe for human consumption; however, 94 out of 109, or 86%, of sewage treatment plants release effluent that is still polluted with sewage into water sources.

AfriForum’s 2025 water quality watch report noted that while the country’s water system appears to be stable on the surface, the sewage in dams and rivers is undermining the foundation of water security in South Africa.

The report was compiled by the organisation’s network of 160 branches testing municipal drinking water and treated sewage samples collected during August.

Out of the water samples taken from 175 towns and cities, 88% produced water that is safe for human consumption, findings that are similar to that which was recorded in 2024, with 87% compliance.

However, only 14% of sewage treatment plants produced effluent clean enough to safely discharge into the environment.

“The seeming stability of drinking water quality is nothing to celebrate. It teeters on an increasingly fragile footing that conceals a serious breakdown in the rest of the system,” said AfriForum environmental affairs adviser Marais de Vaal.

“While most municipalities still manage to keep drinking water within legal limits, the overwhelming failures of sewage treatment plants mean that the rivers and dams that supply this water are being polluted on a massive scale.”

Provinces such as the Free State and the Eastern Cape have not produced a single instance of adequately treated sewage effluent in AfriForum’s tests over the past five years.

The organisation added that the Auditor-General’s report on water services authorities’ compliance with legal obligations for the 2023/2024 financial year, which was tabled in Parliament last week, also highlighted the consequences of poor water management.

It found that 99% of wastewater treatment works failed at least one effluent quality standard and that this untreated wastewater harmed ecosystems, and impacted health and the quality of drinking water.

De Vaal said these findings reflect the ongoing institutional failures of municipalities, which focus what little budget they have on keeping tap water compliant because the consequences of failure are immediate and visible.

“Everything in the value chain beyond a water treatment plant, including ageing pipes, the condition of pumping stations and reservoirs, and especially sewage treatment and the protection of water sources, is left to deteriorate.

“The result is nothing more than a dangerous reality hidden under the pretence of service delivery. This approach is dangerous and unsustainable,” he warned.

The current compliance rate for drinking water still means one in eight people with access to municipal tap water may have been exposed to unsafe drinking water in 2025.

It also leaves the broader society to bear the consequences of polluted rivers and dams that must support domestic use, industry, agriculture and food production.

This crisis is not owing to a lack of legislation, but results from the absence of basic governance, he said, drawing on AfriForum’s analysis of the Water Services Amendment Bill.

Water and sanitation systems collapse where there is no maintenance, no technical skills and no consequence for failure.

“The Bill tries to fix these chronic operational, financial and procurement failures, but ignores the fact that some municipalities already provide safe drinking water and treated effluent within the current legal framework.

“Reversing the decline does not require more paperwork. It requires competence and accountability.”

The Auditor-General’s report found that 26% of municipalities have no water services development plans; the average maintenance spending is at only 3% of municipalities’ asset value, well below the global benchmark of 8%; 30 municipalities have no maintenance plans; and 82% of water infrastructure projects experienced delays.

The quality of drinking water ultimately depends on the condition of the natural sources from which it is drawn.

When water treatment plants abstract water from rivers and dams polluted by sewage, their ability to supply clean water declines drastically.

The cost of treating increasingly polluted water also rises, as shown by recent reports from water boards that expect bulk water tariffs to increase by 10% or more next year – costs that municipalities will inevitably pass on to consumers.

“If this trajectory continues, the water crisis will surpass the energy crisis,” said De Vaal.

AfriForum emphasised that communities must take a prominent role in safeguarding their own water security.

“Government has shown that it cannot solve this crisis on its own. Communities must become active custodians of the systems that sustain them. AfriForum’s water quality watch report gives communities the evidence they need to monitor, report on and challenge the failures that put public health at risk.”