Pretoria West was one of seven areas where poor water quality was measured in Afriforum’s Blue Drop study, which was conducted in February 2016.

The same study was conducted in 130 towns in 2015. Last year, five towns proved to be supplying residents with sub-standard water, as opposed to seven in this year’s study.

This clearly shows that the quality of South Africa’s drinking water is on the decline, says Afriforum in its report.

The report states that the following seven municipalities did not meet minimum water-quality standards:

Pretoria West – Tshwane Metro: High concentration of phenol and chromium.

Belfast – Emakhazeni Local Municipality: E. coli.

Lydenburg – Thaba Chweu Local Municipality: High concentration of faecal coliforms.

Piet Retief – Mkhondo Local Municipality: E. coli.

Witbank – Masilonyana Local Municipality: E. coli.

Schweizer-Reneke – Mamusa Local Municipality: Excess nitrates, which may cause metahemoglobinemia (a condition that could lead to an overall reduced ability of the red blood cells to release oxygen to tissues) in babies.

Stella – Naledi Local Municipality: 50 mg nitrates per 100 ml water, which may cause metahemoglobinemia (a condition that could lead to an overall reduced ability of the red blood cells to release oxygen to tissues) in babies. This is the third consecutive year that Stella’s drinking water tests positive for nitrates above acceptable levels.