{"id":85436,"date":"2023-06-15T06:01:17","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T06:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/editor.mediahack.co.za\/theoutlier\/?p=85436"},"modified":"2025-11-17T17:42:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:42:01","slug":"joburgs-water-how-to-know-if-its-safe-to-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/2023\/06\/15\/joburgs-water-how-to-know-if-its-safe-to-drink\/","title":{"rendered":"Joburg&#8217;s water: How to know if it&#8217;s safe to drink"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Blue Drop report rates Joburg&#8217;s tap water as safe to drink, scoring it over 99% for its chemical and microbiological compliance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joburg Water tests samples every day, with independent verification<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can test your own water if you&#8217;re concerned about its quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of Water and Sanitation publishes the Blue Drop report that focuses on the status of drinking water in all the municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2023 interim&nbsp;Blue Drop report&nbsp;rates Joburg\u2019s tap water as safe to drink, scoring it over 99% for its chemical and microbiological compliance. This means organic matter and heavy metals have been removed from the water and chemicals, such as chlorine, have been added to kill bacteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Where the microbiological compliance is not 99%, you should not be drinking the water,\u2019 Ayesha Laher from the <a href=\"https:\/\/wisa.org.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Water Institute of Southern Africa<\/a> (Wisa) told The Outlier. \u2018As far as I am concerned, any water that is not microbiologically compliant, you shouldn\u2019t drink because it can have viruses, E. coli, cholera or anything that we haven\u2019t discovered.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Joburg monitors water&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.johannesburgwater.co.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Johannesburg Water<\/a> supplies 1.6-billion litres of water a day to the city through its 59 reservoirs from water provided by Rand Water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joburg Water\u2019s Cydna, Goudkoppies and Northern Works laboratories test the city&#8217;s water daily \u2013 testing up to 500 samples a month. An independent laboratory also analyses samples to confirm the quality of the reports.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Joburg Water isn\u2019t the only entity testing the city\u2019s water.&nbsp;<\/strong>Private businesses such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wearcheck.co.za\/testing-analysis-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WearCheck Water<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.setpointwaterlaboratories.co.za\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Set Point Water Laboratories<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/watercan.org.za\/map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outa\u2019s Water Can<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/subscriptions.touchbasepro.com\/t\/d-l-vbhuhd-l-b\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">H2Oguru<\/a>&nbsp;test water for private businesses, water boards, municipalities, businesses as well as for the Department of Water and Sanitation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can I drink the water in my suburb?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>How to check if the water in your area is safe to drink<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.johannesburgwater.co.za\/reservoirs-and-affected-suburbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here first to find the name of the reservoir<\/a>&nbsp;that supplies your suburb<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then go to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ws.dws.gov.za\/IRIS\/mobi_home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this Department of Water and Sanitation website<\/a>&nbsp;and enter the name of the reservoir<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the results show that your reservoir has a blue dot, the water is excellent and you can drink it from the tap. If the dot is red or orange, it means the water is not safe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It may be helpful to remember that water monitoring is happening all the time. There are tips on how to clean your water below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The quality of water can differ between suburbs.&nbsp;<\/strong>Even though water may be of a high quality when it leaves a treatment plant, where it flows \u2013 perhaps through corroded pipes \u2013 affects what comes out of your taps, says Laher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Water quality is also determined by <strong>how far your home or business is from the supply reservoir<\/strong>. This affects how much chlorine will be in your water, for example. (Chlorine kills pathogens and the city follows the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/teams\/environment-climate-change-and-health\/water-sanitation-and-health\/chemical-hazards-in-drinking-water\/chlorine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">safety limits<\/a>&nbsp;set by the World Health Organisation.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Loadshedding can affect the quality of your water.&nbsp;<\/strong>Because power cuts affect pumps, reservoirs empty and only refill once the power is back on. This disturbs the sediment at the bottom of the reservoir, causing the brownish-coloured water you may see flowing from your tap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Red flags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your drinking water<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tastes sandy, it may indicate a leak in the pipes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Looks cloudy or has an oily film, sulphur smell or a metallic taste, it may mean the water was poorly cleaned<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are concerned, contact\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/subscriptions.touchbasepro.com\/t\/d-l-vbhuhd-l-m\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joburg Water<\/a>\u00a0or one of the private testing facilities listed above to test your water.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How to collect a sample:<\/strong>&nbsp;With clean hands, fill a sterile 1.5l bottle with tap water, which the lab will test. Typically, results will be available within 24 hours. A basic potability test costs about R1,700.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Making your water safe to drink&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your water quality is poor, you have a few options \u2013 some easier than others<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Boil your water. This is the best option as it kills pathogens<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add one teaspoon of bleach to 2l of water and let it stand for half an hour before drinking. This is a very cost-effective option<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Filter your water using a clean cloth, coffee filter or paper towel. While cost-effective, this only removes sediment and does not kill bacteria<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Install a water filtration system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Useful links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.johannesburgwater.co.za\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Contact Johannesburg Water<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Find your reservoir: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.johannesburgwater.co.za\/reservoirs-and-affected-suburbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joburg Water: reservoirs and suburbs<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check your suburb&#8217;s water: <a href=\"https:\/\/ws.dws.gov.za\/IRIS\/mobi_home.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department of Water and Sanitation&#8217;s tool<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Private testing laboratories: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wearcheck.co.za\/testing-analysis-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WearCheck Water<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.setpointwaterlaboratories.co.za\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Set Point Water Laboratories<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/watercan.org.za\/map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outa\u2019s Water Can<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/subscriptions.touchbasepro.com\/t\/d-l-vbhuhd-l-b\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">H2Oguru<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/ws.dws.gov.za\/IRIS\/releases\/BDWR.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023 interim Blue Drop report<\/a> [pdf]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The Outlier Local Government newsletter focuses on issues in Johannesburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/newsletters.theoutlier.co.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up<\/a> to receive the next edition<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joburg Water\u2019s Cydna, Goudkoppies and Northern Works laboratories test the city&#8217;s water daily \u2013 testing up to 500 samples a month<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,41,446,1387],"tags":[283,284,285,286,287,288,50,289,192,290,291,292],"newsletter-post":[],"site":[],"class_list":["post-85436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-governance","category-local-government","category-news","category-the-outlier","tag-ayesha-laher","tag-cholera","tag-department-of-water-and-sanitation","tag-drinking-water","tag-e-coli","tag-joburg-water","tag-johannesburg","tag-loadshedding","tag-water","tag-water-institute-of-southern-africa","tag-water-safety","tag-wisa"],"acf":{"big_number":null,"big_number_caption":null,"big_number_link":null,"big_number_background":null,"big_number_text_colour":null,"big_number_icon":null,"big_number_wide":null,"featured_chart":null,"flourish_chart_id":null,"flourish_sub_title":null,"flourish_chart_width":null,"is_newsletter_post":null,"post_style":null,"show_on_front":null,"link_through":null,"chart_url":null,"background_colour":null,"text_colour":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86550,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85436\/revisions\/86550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85436"},{"taxonomy":"newsletter-post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newsletter-post?post=85436"},{"taxonomy":"site","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outliereditor.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site?post=85436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}