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
Check your metro — tap to see score
98.1
Cape Town
excellent
98.1
Johannesburg
excellent
97.1
Ekurhuleni
excellent
88
Tshwane
adequate
83.5
Buffalo City
adequate
85
Nelson Mandela Bay
adequate
44.4
eThekwini
critical
45.6
Mangaung
critical
City of Cape Town
Western Cape
One of the best performing water authorities in SA and the only metro with Blue Drop certification i...
View full profile →City of Johannesburg
Gauteng
Drinking water excellent due to Rand Water support. However Green Drop score has dropped from 86 to ...
View full profile →City of Tshwane
Gauteng
Blue Drop score lags well behind Joburg and Ekurhuleni. Repeat offender for microbiological complian...
View full profile →City of Ekurhuleni
Gauteng
One of Gauteng's strongest drinking water performers at 97.06. ERWAT had six Green Drop certificatio...
View full profile →eThekwini (Durban)
KwaZulu-Natal
CRITICAL: Blue Drop score of only 44.4 — the worst performing metro on drinking water. Also the wors...
View full profile →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...
View full profile →Buffalo City (East London)
Eastern Cape
Stronger Eastern Cape drinking water performer but well below Blue Drop certification. Nearly 40% of...
View full profile →Mangaung (Bloemfontein)
Free State
CRITICAL on both drinking water (45.6) and wastewater (33). National Treasury found 159 km of asbest...
View full profile →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...
View full profile →Alfred Nzo District Municipality
Eastern Cape
DWS poor performer list. Eastern Cape had zero Blue Drop certified municipalities in 2023. AfriForum...
View full profile →Emfuleni Local Municipality
Gauteng
CRITICAL: Non-revenue water of 76.8% — among the worst in the country. Emfuleni is the centre of the...
View full profile →Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality
Free State
Repeatedly flagged by DWS as a critical performer. AfriForum 2024 reported Harrismith's sewage plant...
View full profile →Ngwathe Local Municipality
Free State
AfriForum 2024 found Parys drinking water unsafe for human consumption and Heilbron sewage polluted....
View full profile →Dihlabeng Local Municipality
Free State
AfriForum 2024 found Bethlehem drinking water moved from safe in 2023 to unsafe in 2024. Free State ...
View full profile →Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality
North West
On DWS critical list and high-loss NRW distribution. AfriForum 2024 found 96% of North West sewage s...
View full profile →Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality
North West
DWS critical list and high-loss end of NRW distribution. North West 2024 AfriForum sewage sample was...
View full profile →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...
View full profile →Maquassi Hills Local Municipality
North West
DWS critical performer list. North West 2024 AfriForum sewage testing was almost entirely polluted. ...
View full profile →uThukela District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. High risk end of NRW distribution. AfriForum 2024 found every KZN sewage sample ...
View full profile →Amajuba District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. Newcastle is the main centre. AfriForum 2024 found every sampled KZN sewage outf...
View full profile →Ugu District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. Port Shepstone is the main centre. Long-running water and sanitation fragility o...
View full profile →King Cetshwayo District Municipality
KwaZulu-Natal
DWS poor performer. Empangeni/Richards Bay area. AfriForum 2024 found no clean sewage samples in KZN...
View full profile →Tswelopele Local Municipality
Free State
AfriForum 2024 identified Bultfontein sewage as polluted. Free State had no Blue Drop certified muni...
View full profile →Lekwa Local Municipality
Mpumalanga
Standerton area. Still under active state support intervention in 2024/25. Consistent severe water a...
View full profile →Nketoana Local Municipality
Free State
Reitz area. DWS poor performer list. Free State zero Blue Drop certifications in 2023 and no clean A...
View full profile →Chris Hani District Municipality
Eastern Cape
Queenstown / Komani area. DWS poor performer. Eastern Cape zero Blue Drop certifications in 2023. Af...
View full profile →Joe Gqabi District Municipality
Eastern Cape
Aliwal North area. DWS poor performer. High water loss distribution. Eastern Cape zero Blue Drop and...
View full profile →Letsemeng Local Municipality
Free State
Koffiefontein area. DWS poor performer list. Free State zero Blue Drop certifications and no clean s...
View full profile →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.