Is your tap water safe?
Based on the DWS 2023 Blue Drop and Green Drop reports — the official government audit of all 958 water supply systems across 144 municipalities.
277
water systems in critical state
47.4%
of all water lost or unbilled nationally
47%
of wastewater treatment at critical risk
4 provinces
had zero Blue Drop certified municipalities
eThekwini 44.4
Blue Drop — worst performing metro
City of Cape Town
Western Cape
One of the best performing water authorities in SA and the only metro with Blue Drop certification i...
City of Johannesburg
Gauteng
Drinking water excellent due to Rand Water support. However Green Drop score has dropped from 86 to ...
City of Tshwane
Gauteng
Blue Drop score lags well behind Joburg and Ekurhuleni. Repeat offender for microbiological complian...
City of Ekurhuleni
Gauteng
One of Gauteng's strongest drinking water performers at 97.06. ERWAT had six Green Drop certificatio...
eThekwini (Durban)
KwaZulu-Natal
CRITICAL: Blue Drop score of only 44.4 — the worst performing metro on drinking water. Also the wors...
Nelson Mandela Bay
Eastern Cape
Blue Drop score of 85 looks decent but the metro has been in a prolonged water crisis with severe le...
Buffalo City (East London)
Eastern Cape
Stronger Eastern Cape drinking water performer but well below Blue Drop certification. Nearly 40% of...
Mangaung (Bloemfontein)
Free State
CRITICAL on both drinking water (45.6) and wastewater (33). National Treasury found 159 km of asbest...
OR Tambo District Municipality
Eastern Cape
One of the weakest Blue Drop scores in the Eastern Cape at 25.6. Province had zero Blue Drop certifi...
Alfred Nzo District Municipality
Eastern Cape
DWS poor performer list. Eastern Cape had zero Blue Drop certified municipalities in 2023. AfriForum...
Emfuleni Local Municipality
Gauteng
CRITICAL: Non-revenue water of 76.8% — among the worst in the country. Emfuleni is the centre of the...
Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality
Free State
Repeatedly flagged by DWS as a critical performer. AfriForum 2024 reported Harrismith's sewage plant...
Ngwathe Local Municipality
Free State
AfriForum 2024 found Parys drinking water unsafe for human consumption and Heilbron sewage polluted....
Dihlabeng Local Municipality
Free State
AfriForum 2024 found Bethlehem drinking water moved from safe in 2023 to unsafe in 2024. Free State ...
Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality
North West
On DWS critical list and high-loss NRW distribution. AfriForum 2024 found 96% of North West sewage s...
Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality
North West
DWS critical list and high-loss end of NRW distribution. North West 2024 AfriForum sewage sample was...
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District
North West
DWS critical list. North West 2024 AfriForum produced only 1 clean sewage result out of 23 tests acr...
Maquassi Hills Local Municipality
North West
DWS critical performer list. North West 2024 AfriForum sewage testing was almost entirely polluted. ...
uThukela District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. High risk end of NRW distribution. AfriForum 2024 found every KZN sewage sample ...
Amajuba District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. Newcastle is the main centre. AfriForum 2024 found every sampled KZN sewage outf...
Ugu District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. Port Shepstone is the main centre. Long-running water and sanitation fragility o...
King Cetshwayo District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. Empangeni/Richards Bay area. AfriForum 2024 found no clean sewage samples in KZN...
Tswelopele Local Municipality
Free State
AfriForum 2024 identified Bultfontein sewage as polluted. Free State had no Blue Drop certified muni...
Lekwa Local Municipality
Mpumalanga
Standerton area. Still under active state support intervention in 2024/25. Consistent severe water a...
Nketoana Local Municipality
Free State
Reitz area. DWS poor performer list. Free State zero Blue Drop certifications in 2023 and no clean A...
Chris Hani District Municipality
Eastern Cape
Queenstown / Komani area. DWS poor performer. Eastern Cape zero Blue Drop certifications in 2023. Af...
Joe Gqabi District Municipality
Eastern Cape
Aliwal North area. DWS poor performer. High water loss distribution. Eastern Cape zero Blue Drop and...
Letsemeng Local Municipality
Free State
Koffiefontein area. DWS poor performer list. Free State zero Blue Drop certifications and no clean s...
Check your municipality
Contact your municipality and ask for their latest water quality test results. They are legally required to inform you if water is unsafe.
By law: Municipalities must notify you
Report unsafe water
If your tap water smells unusual, is discoloured, or you experience illness after drinking it, report it to DWS at ws.dws.gov.za or call 0800 200 200.
DWS hotline: 0800 200 200
Access official data
The full Blue Drop and Green Drop reports with data for all 958 water supply systems are available at the DWS website.
View full report data →Data source: Data sourced from Department of Water and Sanitation Blue Drop Report 2023, Green Drop Progress Assessment Report 2023, and AfriForum independent 2024 testing. Water quality conditions change — this tracker reflects official audit findings and may not reflect current real-time status. If you suspect your water is unsafe, boil before drinking and contact your municipality immediately.