AfriForum's Independant Water Quality Project Launches Amidst Concerns Over South Africa's Water Crisis

In a move to hold accountable the water quality management in South Africa, civil rights organization AfriForum has initiated its annual blue and green drop project, wherein branches across the nation will evaluate the condition of drinking water and the water treated at wastewater facilities. The commencement of this project this August underscores the urgency of addressing South Africa's water crisis, which AfriForum has brought into the limelight throughout the year.

The project began at Bethal's wastewater treatment works, marking the proactive role AfriForum has undertaken since 2013. The organization's drive to fill the information void left by the cessation of the Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) reports underscores the imperative for citizens to access reliable data on water safety.

AfriForum's independent testing campaign comes at a critical juncture as the DWS's recent reports paint a grim picture of the nation's water quality. The figures are startling: nearly half of the country's drinking water is microbiologically compromised, a quarter is chemically unsuitable for consumption, and a vast majority of sewage treatment facilities are categorized at high or critical risk levels.

Marais de Vaal, AfriForum's Environmental Affairs advisor, cites a dire landscape where millions of liters of untreated sewage are discharged into rivers; these very waterways are a source of drinking water for millions of South Africans. With waterborne diseases such as cholera posing real threats, and water treatment infrastructures in dire states, the health and safety of the population are at stake.

Public safety is the impetus behind AfriForum's sustained efforts to keep the water crisis in the public eye and press the government into action. The organization aims to provide communities with timely notifications if water standards are not met and to impel local municipalities to address such critical issues with the urgency they warrant.

AfriForum remains adamant in its intent to continuously deliver independent, transparent reports regarding water quality, challenging the government's ability and willingness to secure a basic necessity—safe and clean water for its people.