URGENT REQUEST FOR PROVISION OF WATER TANKS, RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY, AND SANITATION PACKS TO COMMUNITIES WITHOUT ACCESS TO WATER

The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) is urging the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to address critical water and sanitation shortages in more than 200 communities. The letter highlights failures in the DWS hotline, the lack of coordination via the National Disaster Water Command Centre, and the severe health risks posed to vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a detailed annexure of affected areas across several provinces, including the Western Cape, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Free State, where residents rely on polluted rivers, unreliable water trucks, or have no infrastructure at all.

• The South African Water Caucus identifies over 200 communities lacking access to water, noting that the health and safety of thousands of people in more than 60 communities are at risk due to the department's failure to meet constitutional obligations.
• The Department of Water and Sanitation's (DWS) hotline is criticized for being inaccessible to rural communities without telephones or network coverage, and for referring callers back to unresponsive municipal and provincial departments.
• In the Western Cape, several communities face severe water and sanitation crises: Shukushukuma, Esibheshe, and Bhekela lack proper toilets and water, leading residents to relieve themselves in wetlands; Joe Slovo residents cannot afford water or soap; and backyard dwellers in areas like Mitchell's Plain face water limits of 350 litres per day via water management devices.
• Limpopo communities report extreme water scarcity and pollution, with some residents in Shongoane walking kilometres or waiting all day for water, and others in Sekutlong using the Motsi River, which has been polluted by mining since 2017.
• The Eastern Cape exhibits widespread infrastructure failure, where some villages like Ndakeni, Dinda, and Bhukuva have never had water infrastructure and rely on 'muddy puddles', while others in the Centane region have faced lack of access for many years despite reports to the Mayor.
• In Mpumalanga, women in the Iraq informal settlement have been turned away by police while attempting to collect water during lockdown, forcing some to wait until dark to avoid detection.
• Sanitation and pollution issues are highlighted in Gauteng, where the Tjovitjo Informal Settlement lacks portable toilet sanitation, and effluent from Russellspruit flows into the Booysens River and subsequently the Vaal River, affecting downstream communities in Soweto.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2020). URGENT REQUEST FOR PROVISION OF WATER TANKS, RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY, AND SANITATION PACKS TO COMMUNITIES WITHOUT ACCESS TO WATER. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SAWC-letter-to-Minister-Sisulu-1-June-2020.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. URGENT REQUEST FOR PROVISION OF WATER TANKS, RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY, AND SANITATION PACKS TO COMMUNITIES WITHOUT ACCESS TO WATER. 2020. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SAWC-letter-to-Minister-Sisulu-1-June-2020.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=URGENT REQUEST FOR PROVISION OF WATER TANKS, RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY, AND SANITATION PACKS TO COMMUNITIES WITHOUT ACCESS TO WATER |date=1 June 2020 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SAWC-letter-to-Minister-Sisulu-1-June-2020.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2020urgent, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{URGENT REQUEST FOR PROVISION OF WATER TANKS, RELIABLE WATER SUPPLY, AND SANITATION PACKS TO COMMUNITIES WITHOUT ACCESS TO WATER}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/SAWC-letter-to-Minister-Sisulu-1-June-2020.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }