Results from AfriForum’s national water monitoring campaign, known as the Blue and Green Drop campaign, were released last week.
Secunda, Zeerust, Brandfort, Warmbaths, Lydenburg and Naboomspruit all had more than one million counts of E. coli per 100ml of water.
SA’s national water quality standards allow for 1 000 counts of E. coli per 100 ml of water in treated sewage.
Thabazimbi’s water supply contained more than 920 000 counts of E. coli.
“Negligence in planning, management and infrastructure maintenance is causing massive pollution of our water resources. This may pose significant risks to human and environmental health,” said Julius Kleynhans, AfriForum’s head of Environmental Affairs.
The project tested the quality of potable and treated water quality across the country to ensure compliance with national standards.
