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Despite promises of transparency and accountability, South Africa’s much-anticipated Blue Drop Report, which is crucial for the country’s government to ensure the safety of drinking water, remains unpublished.

The News24 crew are however not having it and took matters into their own hands by conducting independent testing in major cities.

Funded by Truth First and a network of satellite laboratories, the media house has been collecting and testing weekly samples of tap water to gauge the presence of harmful bacteria and chemicals. They’ve even set up a site dedicated to uncovering the quality of our tap water; this is the kind of ‘vigilante journalism’ we like to see.

The results found must be considered against a backdrop of the SA government’s interim Blue Drop Watch Report for 2023, which revealed concerning results for the safety of our drinking water.

Out of 151 water systems sampled, the state-driven research found that 71% of these systems were not chemically compliant, and 51% had poor or bad microbiological findings. Ew, what on earth have we been drinking?

That being said, the independent testing carried out by News24 paints a slightly different picture, one that can give us more hope for the H2O we use daily.

The journalists in charge of this new research revealed that the water at city taps in affluent suburbs of SA’s six major cities was universally safe to drink.

Coliform bacteria, a potential indicator of faecal contamination (essentially, kak), were detected in only one sample drawn in Cape Town, and it was at a level deemed safe for drinking. Also, none of the samples contained E. coli or other dangerous waterborne bacteria.

On a chemical level, all the water tested by News24 complied with standards regarding chlorine levels, dissolved salts, and pH value. However, slight variations were observed in some cases which could potentially indicate issues in the future.

While it’s a relief that we can rest easy knowing that our tap water won’t make us ill, the discrepancy between the independent testing and the government’s report highlights the importance of transparency and public access to reliable information about water quality.

How are we supposed to know that our government is oppit if research surrounding our rights to clean drinking water never sees the light of day? With concerns about waterborne diseases and pollutants, providing accurate and timely data is crucial for safeguarding public health and instilling confidence in the water supply.

I feel a bit better knowing that News24 has gone rogue in order to make sure South Africans are safe, but it’s high time our government makes good on their promise to update us on what exactly we’re gulping down.

[source:news24]