AfriForum recently tested the water of various areas in Pretoria to determine the quality of the drinking (blue drop status) and sewage water (green drop status) of towns in this region.
AfriForum’s national blue and green drop project focuses on the state of drinking water and sewage plants in towns. This project doesn’t necessarily focus on the condition of the plant itself, but rather on the quality of the water produced after the process as end product in the form of drinking water and treated sewage water.
“We could determine that the drinking water of all the areas comply with the minimum standards and doesn’t contain any harmful bacteria. AfriForum will continuously test the water quality, however. Residents have a constitutional right to clean drinking water,” says Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Greater Pretoria.
Grobbelaar adds that the water quality of the Hammanskraal area is not up to standard. The results are not contained in this report, however, as Hammanskraal’s water was tested after the report had been compiled.
“We found that the water in the Hammanskraal area is not suitable for human consumption as it contains seven colonies E. coli per 100 ml water, which is extremely harmful to people’s health. AfriForum immediately brought it to the municipality’s attention and requested it to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”
Blue drop results
These results indicate that the drinking water that was tested in Pretoria is clean.
| Greater Pretoria | |||||
| Branch | Municipality | Province | AfriForum blue drop 2017 | AfriForum blue drop 2018 | AfriForum blue drop 2019 |
| Apies River | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Bronkhorstspruit | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Centurion Central | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Centurion South | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | – | Clean | Clean |
| Centurion West | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | – | Clean | Clean |
| Cullinan | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Hennops River Valley | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Kameeldrift | Tshwane Metro o | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Meyers Park | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Moot | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Pretoria North | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Pretoria East (Garstfontein) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Pretoria East (Moreleta Park) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Pretoria East (Waterkloof) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Pretoria West | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Rayton | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Waverley | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| West Moot | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
| Zambezi | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | Clean | Clean | Clean |
Green drop results
According to AfriForum’s green drop results, none of the sewage treatment plants that were tested complied with the prescribed microbiological standards.
| Greater Pretoria | |||||
| Branch | Municipality | Province | Green drop AfriForum 2017
|
Green drop AfriForum 2018
|
Green drop AfriForum 2019
|
| Apies River (Rooiwal) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | 15 000 | >100 000 | >100 000 |
| Bronkhorstspruit (Godrich) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | 2 000 | >100 000 | >100 000 |
| Centurion West (Suiderland) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | 5 500 | >100 000 | >100 000 |
| Cullinan (Cullinan) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | 2 400 | >10 000 | >10 000 |
| Kameeldrift (Baviaanspoort) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | – | >10 000 | >100 000 |
| Pretoria West (Daspoort) | Tshwane Metro | Gauteng | 15 000 | >10 000 | >10 000 |
The civil rights organisation expressed its concern regarding sewage treatment plants within the metro of which the sewage water doesn’t comply with the prescribed standards.
“We will further investigate the noncompliance and act where necessary,” Grobbelaar adds.
Give AfriForum the mandate to continuously monitor the water quality of Pretoria: SMS “Clean water” to 45340 (R1) to support this action.
Read the complete report here.