Cape Town maintains excellent drinking water quality
02 December 2024
Cape Town residents can confidently rely on the quality and safety of their tap water. The City’s latest annual report on drinking water quality, from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, reaffirms the City’s compliance with national standards, showcasing consistent high-quality results.
Cape Town’s tap water has maintained an excellent compliance status with SANS 241:2015 quality standards, demonstrating the City’s commitment to delivering safe and affordable drinking water.
While bottled water costs approximately R15 per litre, Cape Town’s tap water remains accessible at just between 6 cents to 8,5 cents per litre, providing residents with cost-effective and reliable drinking water.
Key highlights from the report:
• Acute microbiological quality: Compliance exceeds 99%, confirming that the water remains safe from harmful pathogens.
• Chemical quality: Results consistently fall well within the SANS 241:2015 limits, ensuring that there are no adverse chemical health effects for consumers.
• Aesthetic quality: The water has an overall acceptability to consumers, making it pleasing to drink.
‘This report serves as a reminder to our residents that our tap water is safe to drink. It is testament to Cape Town’s unwavering commitment to public health and environmental stewardship, maintaining a resilient water supply of the highest quality for all residents.
‘For context, about 200 drinking water samples are collected weekly at various sampling points. This means water quality is monitored by Water and Sanitation’s Scientific Services teams as it flows through the 10 800km network of pumps, reservoirs and pipelines to get to our taps,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
To uphold transparency, quarterly water quality reports are available on the City’s website at www.capetown.gov.za/waterquality. Water Quality updates are also available on the National Department of Water and Sanitation’s ‘My Water’ page.
The Annual Water Quality Analysis Report July 2023 - June 2024 can be viewed here: CTA146/2024 WATER ANALYSIS .indd (capetown.gov.za)
Also see link to view the City’s water quality assurance video: capetown.gov.za/Family and home/Residential-utility-services/Residential-water-and-sanitation-services/water-quality
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
