18 October 2006
Today, 18 October 2006, marks the World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD). The day
offers the opportunity for communities all over the world to make a positive
impact on the quality of both resource and drinking water by involving the
general public, especially school children. The awareness component which will
accompany initiatives on this day will place an emphasis on the crucial
importance of monitoring as part of the water quality assurance function.
In South Africa, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry will engage
with selected schools that are participating in the 2020 Vision Programme and
equip them with monitoring kits to determine the physical and microbiological
quality of tap water by means of indicative methodologies. This will be done in
co-operation with the responsible Water Services Authorities (WSAs) since the
municipality will be benefiting by having access to additional water quality
information.
While 18 October will be used by the Department to empower the public in
terms of water quality monitoring and awareness of resource protection, it
needs to be noted that this day has been set as the D-day for Water Services
Authorities to comply with Regulation 5 under Section 9 of the Water Services
Act of 1997.
It is the legislated duty of Water Services Authorities to have sampling
programmes in place in order to ensure that the quality of drinking water
supplied to the public by means of formal reticulation, complies with the
National Standard (SANS 241:2005). The Department: Water Affairs and Forestry,
as sector regulator, has repeatedly called upon Authorities to adhere to this
legislative duty and is now announcing that 18 October 2006 is the due date for
sampling programmes to be implemented, and from which day this piece of
legislation will be enforced.
Initial interaction with Local Government revealed that the need exists to
sensitise Municipalities on the importance of Drinking Water Quality Management
(DWQ) and it can be noted that the consequent initiatives had a fair amount of
success. This is evident from the improvement which was detected in the Annual
DWQ Survey's results regarding the percentage of WSAs that are monitoring the
Quality of Drinking Water. While only 58% of WSAs reported in 2005 that they
are monitoring drinking water quality, the figure increased to 85% in 2006, and
with current Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) initiatives (the
implementation of electronic monitoring mechanisms) this figure is expected to
increase even further in 2007.
However all WSAs might not be equally capacitated and therefore those who
might be challenged to comply with this requirement must inform the Department
of its inability to comply soonest, with motivation. This does not mean that
exemption will be granted but the notification will enable National Government
to effectively channel resources to ensure that sampling procedures are put in
place where required, as soon as possible.
The fact that South Africa is one of a few countries in the world where one
can drink water directly from a tap, is a noble status which this Government is
not at all willing to surrender hence the commitment to maintain this level of
confidence and to ensure the improvement of the drinking water quality in areas
where it has been found to be questionable.
While there is a high level of confidence in the quality of water
reticulated in the bigger municipalities and metropolitan areas, the Department
still faces the challenge of increasing the confidence levels in other areas.
Recent surveys performed support the claim that drinking water quality in
metropolitan and larger municipalities is generally better managed than at
smaller municipalities, and this has had a direct impact on the quality of
water eventually supplied to the public.
Nevertheless, the Government is not oblivious to the fact that the challenge
remains to ensure that all areas of the country receives safe drinking water
consistently, and therefore various initiatives were initiated to ensure that
high levels of confidence are established in the overall quality of drinking
water. The challenge is two-fold; one to ensure that the high quality of
drinking water in the bigger areas is maintained, while the quality levels in
other areas are also being increased.
Our fellow citizens who do not enjoy access to a safe water supply as yet,
are not excluded from Government's plans in this regard, since a concerted
effort is being made to have all South Africans supplied with safe water by
2008.
The Department is currently supplying all Water Services Authorities with an
electronic Water Quality Management System (eWQMS), in order to equip Municipal
Management with a tool to manage the quality of drinking water as effectively
as possible. This system has proven to be quite successful in the Free State
and Western Cape provinces and similar results are expected in other provinces
where the roll out is currently taking place.
The Department will inform the public on a monthly basis on the quality
status of the drinking water supplied to the nation. This is as a
constitutional right to be informed of the quality of drinking water supplied
by Water Services Institutions in terms of its level of compliance to the set
standards.
Henceforth it can be expected that a report in this regard will be published
on the Departmental website by the 15th of each month. The content of such a
report is completely dependent on the levels of compliance by Water Services
Authorities; however the commitment of my Department to enforce the legislative
requirements will ensure the rapid improvement in the quality of these
reports.
It should be noted that National Government is committed to ensuring that
safe drinking water is being reticulated since it is an undisputable fact that
the quality of drinking water cannot be compromised and that the majority of
our population cannot afford alternative means such as bottled water and home
purification systems to fulfil their need for clean, safe and reliable water
supply.
Enquiries:
Helgard Muller
Tel: (012) 336 6567
Cell: 082 807 4332
Leonardo Manus
Tel: (012) 336 6583
Cell: 082 802 1005
Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
18 October 2006
