‘We have a right to know what’s in our water’: South Africans urged to hold authorities accountable
· Citizen
WaterCAN has warned that South Africa’s worsening water crisis has highlighted the urgent need for citizens to play a greater role in monitoring water quality and holding authorities accountable, arguing that safe drinking water cannot depend on government action alone.
Visit sportbet.reviews for more information.
The organisation is a network of citizen science activists who are committed water guardians and willing stewards advocating for clean, safe and sustainable water.
WaterCAN separated from the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on 9 July 2025 and has since expanded its national footprint.
Communities must respond to water challenges
Chairperson Mark Heywood said South Africa needs organisations that empower citizens to respond constructively to the country’s growing water challenges.
“At a time when public discourse is too often dominated by corruption, division and despair, WaterCAN is helping to build something different – informed, principled and solution-driven citizens who are prepared to defend both people and the environment,” he said.
Dr Ferrial Adam, executive director of WaterCAN, said communities should not remain passive recipients of poor services.
Water testing
She said when people can test their own water, understand what the results mean and make that information public, they are no longer passive recipients of poor services. Instead, they become active defenders of one of our fundamental constitutional rights.
https://media.citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/WATERCan-protest_1.mp4According to Adam, citizen science enables communities to transform their experiences into credible evidence that can be used to advocate for improved service delivery and accountability.
A key part of WaterCAN’s work is its Map My Water platform, a public citizen science database that allows residents to upload water quality test results in real time.
The platform now contains nearly 3 000 citizen-generated water quality tests, making it one of South Africa’s largest independent and publicly accessible community water quality databases.
Adam said the platform filled an important information gap because many communities struggle to access municipal water quality reports.
“People have a right to know what is in their water. Every municipality should proactively publish its water-quality results in ways that are transparent, accessible and easy to understand. Until that happens, citizen science will continue to play a critical role in closing the information gap,” she said.
Water insecurity a ‘governance problem’
Adam said corruption and poor governance remain major drivers of water insecurity, adding that it is not simply an engineering problem.
“It is also a governance problem. When money intended for water and sanitation is diverted or mismanaged, infrastructure collapses. When wastewater treatment plants fail, rivers become polluted. When communities are denied information, trust breaks down. Clean water requires clean governance,” she said.
Poor standard of school water
WaterCAN also expanded its Schools Water Testing Programme, which trains pupils to test drinking water at schools and upload the results to the Map My Water platform.
According to the organisation, almost 30% of water samples collected during its latest Schools Water Testing Week failed basic safety standards.
Adam said the findings highlight the absence of a consistent national system to monitor drinking water quality in schools.
“Unlike municipal drinking-water systems, there is no consistent national approach to monitoring the quality of water that children drink every day at school. That should concern every parent, teacher, school governing body and education authority,” she said.
WaterCAN said it will continue expanding its national network of citizen scientists, strengthen youth engagement, grow the Map My Water database and campaign for greater municipal transparency and accountability.
The organisation also announced that its next national Water Testing Week will take place from 14 to 18 September 2026, encouraging members of the public to participate in citizen science initiatives aimed at monitoring water quality across the country.
Adam said South Africa’s long-term water security depends on active citizens working alongside government.
She added: “The future of water security in South Africa cannot rest solely in government institutions. It also depends on informed, organised and active citizens who are prepared to participate, monitor, question and demand better.”