Green, Blue and No Drop Reports 2025: Ministry briefing

Video In a virtual meeting, the Committee received a briefing from the Department of Water and Sanitation on the 2025 Green Drop, Blue Drop and No Drop Progress Reports, which assess the performance of municipal water and wastewater services. The reports provided an overview of the state of wastewater treatment systems, drinking water quality and non-revenue water losses. DWS indicated that the Green Drop findings reflected a significant deterioration in wastewater management nationally, with the proportion of wastewater treatment systems classified as critical increasing from 39% to 47%, while the number of systems rated as good or excellent declined. Green Drop certifications also decreased and several provinces recorded substantial regressions, although improvements were noted in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The Department attributed poor performance largely to inadequate maintenance, ageing infrastructure, technical skills shortages, governance instability and insufficient investment in municipal water and sanitation services. DWS reported that drinking water quality had generally remained stable, with most water supply systems falling within the low-risk category under the Blue Drop assessment. However, a number of critical-risk systems remained and several municipalities had yet to submit corrective action plans. The No Drop findings showed that non-revenue water remained persistently high at 47.3%, indicating that nearly half of treated water produced nationally was either lost through leaks, theft, metering inaccuracies or other inefficiencies. The highest levels of water losses were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Free State and Northwest, while Gauteng continued to experience particularly significant losses because of the scale of its water consumption. The Department emphasised that the absence of ring-fenced water revenues, inadequate staffing, ageing infrastructure and weak municipal governance are key contributors to these challenges. Committee members wanted clarity on the persistent decline in water and sanitation infrastructure and the effectiveness of existing oversight and enforcement mechanisms. Particular concern was expressed about the recurrence of many of the challenges identified in previous reports and the limited powers available to DWS to compel municipalities to implement corrective measures. In response, DWS highlighted the proposed amendments to the Water Services Act, which are intended to strengthen enforcement, improve accountability and introduce greater consequences for negligence and non-compliance. The Committee asked about the enforcement actions against municipalities responsible for sewage pollution and environmental degradation. The Department reported that numerous criminal investigations and prosecutions were underway and outlined ongoing efforts to strengthen cooperation with law enforcement agencies and the National Prosecuting Authority. Attention was also given to intervention measures in poorly performing provinces, particularly KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Northern Cape and parts of North West, where collaborative programmes are being implemented to improve infrastructure management, strengthen technical capacity and support the implementation of realistic corrective action plans. The meeting concluded with commitments from DWS to provide information on municipalities that had failed to submit corrective action plans, the role and performance of water boards acting as service providers, and the compliance status of wastewater treatment works managed by water boards. The Department also undertook to continue engagements with the National Prosecuting Authority on strengthening environmental enforcement measures and confirmed the publication of a Special Watch Report on sewer networks and pump station performance in July 2026. The Committee welcomed the reinstatement of the Drop Reports as an important accountability mechanism and emphasised the need for sustained intervention to address the ongoing deterioration of water and sanitation infrastructure across South Africa.