Municipal water strategy
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Individual Reform: Municipal water strategy 2026 - 2027

The quality of water and improvement in water distribution systems are yet to change.

Blue Drop / Green Drop publication

Summary

The reports have been published.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

Actions met

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

The reports have been published.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

Actions met

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

The reports have been published.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

Actions met

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

The reports have been published.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

Actions met

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

The reports have been published.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

Actions met

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level.The reports have been published.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

Actions met but the Blue Drop Report and Green Drop Progress Assessment Reports are intended to be released regularly as part of water quality and wastewater management regulatory framework. The next Green Drop report is expected to be released in December 2025; the Blue Drop report in December 2026.

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect. These reports are supposed to be released regularly.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Assessment of water quality informs future actions by the DWS to address issues identified.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. The Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides an update on the performance of wastewater management systems at the municipal level. The latest reports were published in December 2023, marking the continuation of the Blue, Green, and No Drop certification programmes, which were initially introduced in 2008, suspended in 2014, and reintroduced in 2021.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

The reports are available but the Blue Drop Report and Green Drop Progress Assessment Reports are intended to be released regularly as part of water quality and wastewater management regulatory framework. The next Green Drop report is anticipated to be released at the end of 2025, and the Blue Drop report in December 2026.

The 2023 Blue Drop Report, for instance, which reveals concerning trends, assessed 958 drinking water systems across 144 water services authorities. Only 3% (26 systems) achieved Blue Drop certification, while 52% (277) failed or barely passed quality tests. The 2023 Green Drop Progress Assessment Report confirms that 64% of wastewater treatment works fall into high or critical risk categories.

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect. These reports are supposed to be released regularly.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Assessment of water quality informs future actions by the DWS to address issues identified.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. The Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides an update on the performance of wastewater management systems at the municipal level. The latest reports were published in December 2023, marking the continuation of the Blue, Green, and No Drop certification programmes, which were initially introduced in 2008, suspended in 2014, and reintroduced in 2021.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

The reports are available but the Blue Drop Report and Green Drop Progress Assessment Reports are intended to be released regularly as part of water quality and wastewater management regulatory framework.

The 2023 Blue Drop Report, for instance, which reveals concerning trends, assessed 958 drinking water systems across 144 water services authorities. Only 3% (26 systems) achieved Blue Drop certification, while 52% (277) failed or barely passed quality tests. The 2023 Green Drop Progress Assessment Report confirms that 64% of wastewater treatment works fall into high or critical risk categories.

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect. These reports are supposed to be released regularly. The updated Green Drop Progress Assessment Report, which was expected to be published in December 2025 or by the end of the 2025/26 financial year, remains unreleased. As with the Blue Drop reports, Green Drop reports should be published annually to track municipal wastewater treatment performance and drive accountability. The updated Blue Drop report was expected to be released in December 2026.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Assessment of water quality informs future actions by the DWS to address issues identified.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Summary

Publish reports on the status of drinking water and wastewater systems. Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality. The Green Drop Progress Assessment Report provides an update on the performance of wastewater management systems at the municipal level. The latest reports were published in December 2023, marking the continuation of the Blue, Green, and No Drop certification programmes, which were initially introduced in 2008, suspended in 2014, and reintroduced in 2021.

Canvas not supported.

Is it working?

The reports are available but the Blue Drop Report and Green Drop Progress Assessment Reports are intended to be released regularly as part of water quality and wastewater management regulatory framework.

The 2023 Blue Drop Report, for instance, which reveals concerning trends, assessed 958 drinking water systems across 144 water services authorities. Only 3% (26 systems) achieved Blue Drop certification, while 52% (277) failed or barely passed quality tests. The 2023 Green Drop Progress Assessment Report confirms that 64% of wastewater treatment works fall into high or critical risk categories.

Actions

The Department of Water and Sanitation released the Blue Drop Report and the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report in 2023.

Are there plans?

In effect. These reports are supposed to be released regularly. The updated Green Drop Progress Assessment Report, which was expected to be published in December 2025 or by the end of the 2025/26 financial year, remains unreleased. As with the Blue Drop reports, Green Drop reports should be published annually to track municipal wastewater treatment performance and drive accountability. The updated Blue Drop report was expected to be released in December 2026.

Is it on the agenda?

Part of the assessment of water quality and water provision systems.

Goals

Assessment of water quality informs future actions by the DWS to address issues identified.

References

Departments / Govt Institutions

Department of Water and Sanitation

Analyst: Thabani Madlala
Status: in-progress
Last Updated:
Next Update:
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    Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    No data available for the deliverable: Municipal intervention strategy

    Summary

    No or little evidence of action. HALTED: We stopped tracking this reform at end-June 2025 and merged it into OV2 wider water reforms programme.

    Canvas not supported.

    Is it working?

    No action yet

    Actions

    No clear evidence of actions taken.

    Are there plans?

    National Treasury's Cities Support Programme to design an intervention strategy for the improvement of water service delivery by local municipalities.

    Is it on the agenda?

    Part of the plans to improve water distribution systems and quality of water but no action taken as yet.

    Goals

    Intervention to address institutional inefficiencies in municipal water distribution.

    Analyst: Thabani Madlala
    Status: halted
    Last Updated:
    Next Update:
    Got an Update? Follow this reform
    Reform Area:
    Reform:

      If you would like to alert our analysts to an update you are aware of in this particular reform area, please complete the form below and submit it to us. Please ensure you include links to any press releases or other documents to confirm the reforms and provide detail to allow our analysts to assess the changes. Our team will review it.