School children discover that more than 40% of school water samples they tested are unsafe
Citizen science tests by children and teachers in seven provinces suggest that roughly 40% of the school water samples they collected are not safe to drink because of stomach bug bacteria and other water contaminants.
While the informal testing project was based on a very small sample of schools – mainly in townships and rural areas – they nevertheless closely mirror the findings of the government's last official Blue Drop report, which found that 'it was not microbiologically safe to drink the water in almost half (46%) of our drinking water systems at times during 2022 when the Blue Drop audit was done'.
The Blue Drop report also stated that the poor tap water quality found in many smaller municipalities increases the risk of life-threatening water-borne diseases such as cholera and chronic diarrhoea.
In the latest Water Warriors test programme, children and teachers at 95 schools nationwide collected and analysed samples during a series of World Water Day events in March. Subsequent analysis showed that 43% of samples were classified as unsafe for human consumption due to unacceptable levels of bacterial contamination.
Large plastic water storage containers (JoJo and similar tanks) showed the highest levels of contamination (73%) while 66% of river-collected water and 23% of municipal tap water samples were also contaminated with E. coli and other intestinal bugs.
Dr Ferrial Adam, executive director of WaterCAN, a national civil society organisation which helped to initiate the project, said the results would be shared with all the schools involved and the Department of Basic Education.
'When schools lack clean water, the consequences are profound. Children fall ill. Teachers struggle to create safe learning environments. Families are forced to buy bottled water with money meant for food or transport. These are not isolated incidents – they are symptoms of systemic neglect,' she said.
Increasingly, many schools across the country were operating with intermittent or no piped water supply, relying instead on boreholes, rainwater harvesting or water tank deliveries. These sources were often unreliable, poorly maintained or contaminated.
Adam acknowledged that: 'This project was a snapshot, not a full picture. With 95 schools participating, this represents only a tiny fraction of the more than 24,000 schools in South Africa.'
But the fact that more than 40% of the tested water samples were unsafe for drinking was 'alarming', and suggested that many more schools could be facing similar or worse conditions without knowing it.
'While we cannot generalise about the water quality status of all schools, the findings do highlight systemic concerns that likely apply nationwide.'
Department of Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga has also expressed 'concern' about the test results, noting that the National School Nutrition Programme – which provides meals to 9.6 million children daily – also depends on the water supply available in the areas where the schools are located.
'Any risk to which the learners are exposed poses a serious threat to the entire value chain thus placing the health of millions of children at risk. The report therefore raises critical matters that have an impact on schooling in the country.'
'Schools are beneficiaries of services rendered by municipalities and other organs of state, so they depend on those organisations established specifically to provide services that are needed for education to take place in a conducive environment.'
The testing, under the umbrella of the Water Warriors Collective, was initiated by WaterCAN, with support from Adopt-a-River, the Wildlife and Environment Society, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, the Cape Town Science Centre, the Nelson Mandela Bay Science Centre, Makhanda River Rescue and the Leap Institute.
The testing kits were supplied by the i-lab group which designed portable kits for non-scientific field operatives to do a basic water quality screening on chemicals (nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, chlorine, alkalinity, pH and hardness) and microbiological contamination (total coliform, E. coli) to determine the water's safety for human consumption. DM
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