Environmental organisations and the Department of Basic Education call for urgent intervention to address the results of the national Water Warrior School Water Quality Testing Project, which found that 43% of school water samples tested were unsafe for drinking.

The project was conducted by environmental organisation Water Community Action Network (WaterCAN) in partnership with Adopt-a-River and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa), among others, and revealed that 43% of school water samples (23 out of 53) were unsafe for drinking, mostly due to bacterial contamination.

Launched in March, the initiative empowered 95 schools across eight provinces to test their water using citizen science kits.

Of the results uploaded, 73% of tested water tanks, 23% of taps, and 66% of river samples contained harmful bacteria, including E.coli. The majority of results were from schools in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng.

Azile Mpukwana, from WaterCAN and Adopt-a-River, who trained the teachers and pupils in the testing process and visited schools, said they were very disappointed that some of the tests showed high levels of E.coli in the water, including at schools that use tap water.

Mpukwana said some schools were very confident while testing, as they believed that the water was safe since it was clear and clean and came from the tap.

“The pupils were surprised to see that the E.coli levels were very high,” she said.

She said the schools in the rural areas that use water tanks are in “big trouble” because their water is very dirty, containing bacteria and E.coli.

“They need some help and intervention. As Adopt a River, we noticed that what we see at the ocean, the high levels of E.coli in the rivers, in terms of what we test every week with Talbot, is that it is no different from what communities are facing. It is also more disappointing because not that it’s not the water from the river or the ocean, it’s actually from the tap,” stated Mpukwana.

Mpukwana said that while people are happy that they get water in these areas, the quality is very poor.

Wessa said it is concerned by the findings of the project.

Wessa’s chief executive officer, Cindy-Lee Cloete, said these findings are a wake-up call for the country.

“These findings validate Wessa’s long-standing concerns about the state of water and sanitation in our schools and emphasise the immediate risks to learners’ and educators’ health,” stated Cloete.

Nomfundo Ndlovu, who is Wessa’s senior programme manager of schools and youth, said unsafe water in schools is not just a health issue; it’s an education issue, a gender issue, and a human rights issue.

Ndlovu said the implications of these findings for learners and staff are far-reaching, and they extend to schools that were not part of this initial testing.

“Alarmingly, with 43% of tested samples found unsafe, thousands of untested schools may be unknowingly affected, highlighting the need for regular nationwide water quality monitoring to safeguard the rights and well-being of all school communities,” she said.

According to Ndlovu, the unsafe water in schools poses serious health risks to both learners and staff, exposing them to waterborne diseases and creating unsafe, unhygienic learning environments.

“This contributes to increased absenteeism, especially among girls during menstruation, and can lead to school closures during health crises, disrupting education and deepening inequality.

“Teachers face added burdens managing these challenges, while families often bear extra financial strain by purchasing water or relying on unsafe alternatives,” said Ndlovu.

Morgan Griffiths, senior manager for advocacy, membership, and governance at Wessa, said the organisation believes that a concerted, multi-pronged approach is required to ensure all schools have access to safe water.

“To address unsafe water in schools, Wessa recommends a comprehensive approach that includes immediate safety measures such as notifying affected schools and providing access to safe drinking water,” he said.

Griffiths continued that follow-up testing is essential to track improvements, while regular monitoring should be implemented across all schools.

“Infrastructure upgrades, such as cleaning water tanks, repairing pipes, and ensuring a reliable municipal supply, are critical to preventing contamination,” he said.

Wessa also emphasised the importance of environmental education and youth empowerment through training and citizen science, fostering accountability at the school level.

“Lastly, systemic change is needed through national policy leadership, regular testing mandates, public reporting, and sustained government investment to ensure that every learner has access to safe and dignified learning conditions,” stated Griffiths.

The organisation added that these findings are a call to action for the whole country.

“Every school deserves to know the quality of its water, and every learner deserves access to clean, safe water.”

The National Department of Water and Sanitation noted the effort taken by the pupils, who were involved in monitoring the quality of water in their respective areas.

“The department believes this project might have been undertaken as part of water quality monitoring awareness at schools rather than monitoring quality with the objective of determining quality compliance of the tap water.”

Acting spokesperson Sanku Tsunke said the department has a mandate to monitor the quality of tap water delivered by water services institutions throughout the country as prescribed by the South African National Standard (SANS 241).

He said SABS 241 states that any method of analysis, including test kits, can be used and be considered, but microbiological methods should be validated by best practices.

“Therefore, in this case, follow-up samples should be taken by an accredited method at an independent laboratory,” said Tsunke.

In addition, Tsunke said more information should be provided about the source of samples, including whether samples were taken from municipal treated water or untreated water sources and whether other standard practice processes were followed when taking water samples at a tap.

“All these questions should be answered affirmatively before one concludes that the municipal tap water taken was unsafe or not,” he emphasised.

He said these issues should be taken into consideration, as the document does not indicate the source of samples taken by the pupils.

“The department may not intervene, for instance, on samples taken at the river, water harvesting, and water tankers, as these sources may not be safe for human consumption.” 

Tsunke said the Department of Basic Education must request the water services authority to provide water infrastructure that will supply tap water that is safe for human consumption.

“The Department of Water and Sanitation, as a sector leader, is not responsible for the provision of safe tap water; the Department of Basic Education, together with the relevant water services authority, must provide water that is safe for human consumption,” he said.

The department suggested that the findings of the water samples should be communicated to the relevant water services authorities to ensure that follow-up samples are taken to determine the validity of the samples.

“Furthermore, the current drinking water quality status microbiological compliance is 95.3%, while chemical compliance is 98.7%, and these compliance results were analysed by independent laboratories,” said Tsunke.

When the results were released last week, Elijah Mhlanga, spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education, expressed concern over the water quality report.

He highlighted that 9.6 million children rely daily on school services and the National School Nutrition Programme, both of which are dependent on school water supply.

Mhlanga stressed that risks to pupils threaten the entire value chain, endangering millions.

He added that the report raises critical issues impacting schooling, and schools, as beneficiaries of municipal and state services, rely on these organisations for a conducive learning environment.

Mhlanga urged the country to address the report’s findings to ensure learners have clean, safe water.

WaterCAN said the results were communicated to all schools, and those schools where water was not safe were informed about the results and ways to respond.

The organisation said follow-up monitoring will be conducted in July and August, which will include notifying schools with “do not drink” warnings and supporting schools in terms of re-testing and tracking changes.

WaterCAN will also engage municipalities to demand tank cleaning and improved infrastructure, equip pupils and teachers with continued awareness and advocacy tools, and support and engage the Department of Basic Education about the situation and crafting solutions.

karen.singh@inl.co.za

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