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DISBANDED HOPE: Algae soup brewing in the informal settlement of Ethembeni, which means ‘hope’ in isiZulu, in Khayelitsha. (Lihle Tyala)

There’s something in the water. Khayelitsha’s kids want you to see it

When a group of learners headed out with their cameras to document infectious disease in the time of climate change, many came back with what they see every day — dangerous,…

BLANTYRE, MALAWI – JANUARY 18: An aerial view of landslide and damage caused by flash floods from Severe Tropical Cyclone Freddy, an exceptionally long-lived, powerful, and deadly tropical cyclone that traversed the southern Indian Ocean for more than five weeks in February and March 2023 hitting the Southern regions of Malawi, on January 18, 2024 in Blantyre, Malawi. (Photo by Contigo/Getty Images)

Climate crisis pushes Malawi food farmers into starvation

The devastation of Cyclone Freddy, which Storm Ana and Cyclone Gombe, is being exacerbated by the drought brought on by El Niño

Kariba REDD+ Project members fetching water from the borehole to irrigate their garden in Hurungwe RDC, Zimbabwe.

WaterAid warns of regional cholera epidemic as cases spread across Southern Africa

Focus required to fix root causes: lack of access to clean water and sanitation

Hammanskraal residents have to go out and find water. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Tshwane, government departments must work together for Hammanskraal water – Public Protector

The report found that a failure to upgrade the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works is a health risk to residents

Data governance provides evidence-based decision-making that improves the quality of service delivery

Health department reports decrease in cholera cases

But the public has been warned to remain vigilant

Unprocessed sewage that is sent to farmers to irrigate their crops with that has caused contamination at Rooiwal wastewater treatment works. Photos: Delwyn Verasamy

‘Criminal’ that Rooiwal’s upgrade comes at the cost of lives

Farmers in the Apies River area decry the damage pollution from the defective wastewater treatment plant has done to their farms and livelihoods

President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

We have failed you, Ramaphosa tells Hammanskraal residents

Cholera outbreak has been a ‘big lesson’ for the government, penitent president says, while promising to fix the problems

Data governance provides evidence-based decision-making that improves the quality of service delivery

How safe from cholera and harmful bacteria is our water?

Experts say cholera is unlikely to end up in tap water. But for how long will it be germ-free, with half of SA’s water treatment plants struggling due to load-shedding?

The survey found that although the proportion of respondents who are connected to piped water remains high (92% in 2023-24), the percentage of respondents who believe their water is “always clean” declined from 75% in 2020-21 to 60% in 2023-24. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)

Portable treatment plant to supply drinking water to Hammanskraal by March next year

The Rooiwal wastewater treatment works is set for a R4 billion upgrade

Plastic and other waste pollution along the Hennops River. The sewage pollution of the river affects the water quality of the Rietvlei and Hartbeespoort dams. File photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G

SA hit by a ‘tsunami of sewage’

The Green and Blue Drop reports show that more than 90% of the country’s wastewater treatment works are dysfunctional

Photo by Delwyn Verasamy/M&G

Editorial: Fix our water crisis now

Now is the time for accountability. Our leaders must deal with the consequences of their failures.

It is crucial not to overlook the Apies River as a potential contributor to the situation in Hammanskraal. (Facebook)

Cholera in the capital: the search for the source

Another national disaster looms as polluted Apies River may be the prime suspect behind the deadly Tshwane waterborne disease outbreak

Healthcare workers move a body from a makeshift mortuary at a cholera treatment centre at Bwaila district hospital in Lilongwe in February. Photograph: Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP/Getty Images

South Africa joins countries grappling with cholera on the continent

Cholera was largely eliminated from industrialised countries more than a century ago, but there are still a significant number of cases each year in Africa

Rand Water assures people they use chlorine to disinfect water taken from Vaal River, making it safe to drink

‘No threat of cholera infection from Rand Water supply’

The utility assures people they use chlorine to disinfect water taken from Vaal River, making it safe to drink

Sewage flows into the Vaal River. File photo by Delwyn Verasamy

Traces of cholera detected in Vaal River

Water expert says this does not come as a shock as there are several places where raw sewage flows into the the river

With dysfunctional sewage plants and failing water treatment plants such as Temba (above) South Africa has the perfect conditions for diseases such as cholera to thrive. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Hammanskraal cholera: Time for ‘bullshitting’ is over, says mayor

The City of Tshwane will allocate R450 million over the next three years to fix the dysfunctional Rooiwal plant, which is polluting water in the area

Nearly half of South Africa’s drinking water systems are in a poor state. (Getty Images)
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Broken: Eskom, Transnet, Post Office – and so is South Africa’s water

Is the situation in Hammanskraal a sign of what is to come?

About seven billion litres of sewage are released every day into rivers and dams. (Andy Mkosi)

Government has known about Hammanskraal time bomb for over a decade – OUTA

The problems date back to about 2008, when large quantities of raw sewage began flowing into the Apies River from the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works in Tshwane

Hammanskraal residents have to go out and find water. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Hammanskraal water crisis exposes years of neglect

Hammanskraal is a place that has been overlooked for decades, especially when it comes to water and sanitation

Nearly half of South Africa’s drinking water systems are in a poor state. (Getty Images)

Why cholera continues to threaten many African countries

It persists because of poor sanitation and water supplies, worsening socioeconomic conditions and because governments don’t take its prevention and control seriously