Bill to help govt enforce clean water provision

Almost two-thirds of water-supplying municipalities (94 of 144) failed to provide clean drinking water to residents in 2022.

In 61 municipalities, water treatment and supply was in “a critical state”, according to the latest Blue Drop Report, yet the department of water and sanitation (DWS) cannot intervene directly to address this.

Under current water legislation, the department’s only recourse is for the minister to “request the relevant province to intervene in terms of Section 139 of the constitution”.

A Section 139 process allows the provincial government to place a municipality under administration if it fails to meet its constitutional obligations. This process is time-consuming and requires much political will.

Associate professor Germarie Viljoen, a senior law lecturer specialising in water law at North-West University, says she is “rather sceptical” about the effectiveness of the Section 139 process, “given the urgency often associated with water services”.

“The reliance on time-sensitive decisions and political motivations makes it an uncertain solution in many instances,” she said.

It requires one tier of government holding another to account, which “may not always be forthcoming”. A provincial MEC for local government has to demand information from an errant council, conduct investigations, and assume responsibility for enforcing minimum norms and standards.

The Water Services Amendment Bill, introduced to parliament in November, seeks to strengthen enforcement by allowing the department to issue directives to municipalities that fail to provide clean drinking water.

Should a municipality not comply with a directive to meet minimum standards within the required time frame, the Bill would allow the water minister to appoint “any water services institution” to take over “all the duties” related to water provision.

Any expenses incurred may be recovered from the municipality.

But similar directives issued under the National Environmental Management Act – for failure to meet wastewater treatment standards – have often been ignored or have taken years to have an effect.

DWS spokesperson Mavasa Wisane said of 88 notices and directives issued to municipalities in the 2022 financial year for pollution of the environment, 71 “remain unaddressed”. She said of the 17 that did respond, only eight provided representations that “adequately addressed the concerns raised”.

She said the DWS was conducting follow-ups to ascertain compliance, and would take “further enforcement action” if required.