In all provinces in the country, unreliable supply, unsafe water and prolonged interruptions expose systemic failures and weak oversight.

Access to clean and reliable water is a constitutionally enshrined human right, but an increasingly bleak picture of the trusteeship of the nation's most precious life-giving natural resource has been emerging all over South Africa for many years.

Although access to piped water in South Africa has seen a commendable increase -from 73.4% in 2011 to 82.4% in 2022 - this national average masks a deepening crisis of reliability and failing infrastructure. The data from numerous reports and the experiences of South Africa's most vulnerable communities reveals a stark

"dry tap reality" in which having a pipe in your yard does not guarantee water flowing from it.

Moreover, the quality of the country's water is declining rapidly. Reams of reports are sounding the alarm on systems on the brink of collapse.

Limpopo

Limpopo has the lowest water access rate in South Africa at 69%, leaving more than 2.1 million residents without basic access. Even for those who do have access, service is often dysfunctional.

In 2024, ahead of the highly contested local government elections, Daily Maverick visited several villages that line the 20km D3810 dirt road in the Greater Giyani Local Municipality in Limpopo. In many of the villages, including...