Although most South Africans still consider their tap water safe to drink, their confidence in water services is waning
Although most South Africans still consider their tap water safe to drink, their confidence in water services is waning, the latest water services barometer study has found.
Up to 50% of respondents who took part said they either boiled or filtered their water before drinking it, while 8% specified that they drink only bottled water.
The third nationwide perception study was undertaken by the Water Research Commission (WRC), together with the South African Local Government Association (Salga). The Water Services Barometer Study 2022 sampled 3 302 households, including 738 rural households — marking the first time that rural householders were interviewed.
In 2011 and 2015, the WRC and Salga undertook national surveys to establish users’ perceptions of the provision of water services in municipalities, with the 2022 study the latest iteration of the study.
In 2015, the survey found that 88% of people believed their water was safe to drink. But only 79% of urban residents and 64% of people living in rural areas had the same confidence in 2022.
The analysis showed that consumers living in metros and other urban areas are less positive about their drinking water quality in 2022 than they were in the preceding study years. “For example, in 2015, 70% drank tap water without boiling, filtering, or cleaning it first; in 2022, this figure dropped to about 50%.
“Fifteen percent on average now boil, filter, or clean their drinking water in comparison with an average of 5% in 2015. The percentage of consumers who only drink bottled water has increased from 4.4% in 2015 to 8% in 2022,” said the report, which described how this trend is supported by consumers’ perception that their water supply has become less reliable.
Water interrupted
In 2015, 82% of people in metros and other urban areas said they seldom (less than once a month) or never experienced interruptions in their water supply. In 2022, this figure dropped to 67%.
Water interruptions were experienced differently between provinces. From 2015 to 2022, the reliability of water supply declined distinctively in the Northern Cape (38% less reliable) and the Free State (33%), according to the perceptions of consumers in metros and other urban areas.
The survey showed that 23% of urban residents in Limpopo said they experience water interruptions at least once a week, while a further 22% said this happened at least once a day.
Fewer people, too, reported that they pay for water in 2022 than in 2015. The percentage of those who said they don’t pay for water increased from 12% in 2015 to 20% in 2022.
Rural residents are significantly more negative about all aspects of water and sanitation services than people living in metros and other urban areas. Rural residents are also the least satisfied with water and sanitation services.
People in towns are considerably less confident about the safety of tap water than they were in 2015. In four provinces the percentage of people who believe their tap water is very safe or safe to drink dropped to below 60%. In Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, 2% and 4% respectively, said they do not get water from a tap.
The 2022 perception study identified that two key findings of the 2011 and 2015 studies are still valid. “This is that the majority of South Africans are confident that municipal tap water is safe to drink. The organoleptic properties of tap water (appearance, smell and taste) and the fact that nobody got sick are the main drivers of these perceptions.”
Across Living Standard Measure (LSM) groups another pattern was confirmed. “The higher LSM groups perceived to get safer tap water, less interruptions and better water and sanitation services than the lower LSM groups. They are also more satisfied with their water and sanitation services.”
The LSM is associated with service level. “The lowest LSM groups have communal toilets, pit latrines or mobile toilets, and they get their drinking water from communal taps, water trucks or a river or dam, while the highest LSM groups have multiple taps inside their homes and flushable toilets.”
Blue Drop not a determinant
The report noted how, in 2022, perceptions about chlorine in drinking water echoed those found in the 2011 and 2015 studies. “The smell of chlorine in tap water could either induce a positive perception that the water is safe to drink (15%) or a negative perception that it is unsafe to drink (22%). However, water which smells of chlorine is more likely to be perceived as rendering water unsafe to drink.”
Confidence in the safety of drinking water is not the only driver of drinking water behaviour. For example, 89% of the City of Johannesburg’s residents are confident that tap water is safe to drink, but only 63% drink water straight from the tap.
This week, the department of water and sanitation released its 2023 Blue Drop report, which found that 26 water supply systems scored more than 95% and qualified for prestigious Blue Drop certification. This is compared with the 44 water supply systems that were awarded Blue Drop status in 2014.
But the perception study found that the Blue Drop status of municipalities remains very low on the list of drivers of perceptions. Only 4% of consumers in metros and other urban areas gave “our municipality has a Blue Drop” as a reason for their perception that tap water is safe to drink.
Water scarcity
South Africans are becoming more aware of the scarcity of water. In 2022, 86% of consumers (versus 79% in 2015) mentioned that they actively save water. They did this by, among others, not leaving taps running, fixing leaks, showering instead of bathing, and generally using “as little water as possible”.
Jay Bhagwan, the executive manager of the WRC, said the study afforded the opportunity to track consumer perceptions as they developed over time, gain insights into water service quality, and establish a national baseline for customer satisfaction with water and sanitation services and the tariffs that municipalities charge for these services.
“The study can, therefore, be regarded as a barometer of trends in water services in South Africa over the past 10 years from the perspective of the consumer. The results provide the WRC, Salga and municipalities insight into the level of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with water services in South Africa, and the drivers of customers’ perceptions of the quality of water services,” he said.