THE STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION AND SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER SECURITY AND REQUEST FOR MEETING WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN WATER CAUCUS IN RELATION

A letter from the South African Water Caucus (SAWC) to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, dated 27 June 2018, detailing a state of institutional crisis within the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and proposing priority actions to secure South Africa's water security.

• The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is described as being in a state of 'institutional crisis' and 'institutional paralysis', characterized by severe deterioration of water infrastructure and governance failures.
• The DWS faces significant internal challenges, including high staff turnover, vacancy rates, and serious financial mismanagement involving over-expenditure, debt to the Reserve Bank, and corruption allegations.
• There is a critical failure in water quality monitoring and enforcement; Blue Drop and Green Drop reports have not been published since 2013, and the DWS had zero criminal convictions for offences despite 76 facilities requiring enforcement action in 2016/2017.
• Wastewater treatment infrastructure is deteriorating, with 212 plants categorized as 'Critical Risk' in the 2014 Green Drop report. The North West Province is particularly affected, with 60% of its wastewater treatment systems rated as High or Critical Risk.
• The SAWC opposes the previous Minister's proposal to consolidate nine Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) into a single national agency, arguing it contradicts national policy on decentralization and public participation.
• South Africa's 22 strategic water source areas (SWSAs) cover 8% of the land but provide 50% of surface run-off and support 60% of the population and 67% of national economic activity, yet they face threats from mining, climate change, and land degradation.
• The cost of closing approximately 5,906 derelict and ownerless mines and treating acid-mine drainage (AMD) is estimated at up to R60 billion, far exceeding the R200 million budgeted for 2018/2019.
• Water allocation is currently inequitable, with 60% of water allocated to industrial agriculture—which contributes only 3% to GDP—while Black emerging farmers receive only roughly 3% of that allocation.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2018). THE STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION AND SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER SECURITY AND REQUEST FOR MEETING WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN WATER CAUCUS IN RELATION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SAWC_Letter-to-Minister-of-Water-and-Sanitation_27-06-2018.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. THE STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION AND SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER SECURITY AND REQUEST FOR MEETING WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN WATER CAUCUS IN RELATION. 2018. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SAWC_Letter-to-Minister-of-Water-and-Sanitation_27-06-2018.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=THE STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION AND SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER SECURITY AND REQUEST FOR MEETING WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN WATER CAUCUS IN RELATION |date=27 June 2018 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SAWC_Letter-to-Minister-of-Water-and-Sanitation_27-06-2018.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2018state, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{THE STATE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION AND SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER SECURITY AND REQUEST FOR MEETING WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN WATER CAUCUS IN RELATION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SAWC_Letter-to-Minister-of-Water-and-Sanitation_27-06-2018.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }