Statement by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Mrs Edna Molewa at the release of the Blue drop and Green Drop assessment reports, June 30 2011

Ladies and gentlemen

Water services delivery is performed by a number of stakeholders, water services authorities, water boards and service providers across the country. Water is the life-blood of our country, without it there is no life, no economic growth no development.

As the Department of Water Affairs we take our role as custodian of water resources very seriously and we are always exploring ways in which we can facilitate the conservation and protection of this precious resource. The regulation of wastewater services and drinking water quality is done with the core objective of protecting the environment and public health respectively.

The Blue and Green Drop certification programmes are flagship innovations of the Water Affairs Department. In 2008, as water sector regulator we introduced this incentive-based regulation system, the Blue Drop and Green Drop Certification Programmes to improve municipal drinking water quality and waste water management and I am happy to say our municipalities are embracing this approach more and more.

Our standards for drinking water quality are aligned with the best international practice - the latest South African standards currently being revised by a team of the SABS follows the international guidelines as set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and a team of international water regulators met last week with officials of my department to share best practice.

Blue Drop Report

Let me begin with the Blue Drop report. The Blue Drop Certification programme of 2011 verified the status of drinking water quality and the management of supply systems of 162 municipalities. In order to produce this report, teams from my department assessed 914 water supply systems, compared to the 787 systems assessed in 2009.

I must however emphasise that where systems do not receive a Blue Drop are not necessarily supplying poor quality drinking water or that the water is unhealthy or unfit for human consumption. It simply means that, that particular system did not comply with the Blue Drop benchmark score which is 95%. The report also explicitly informs on the actual drinking water quality compliance for each water supply system over the reported period.

Blue Drop Certification should be deemed as the cum laude or distinction of drinking water quality management; recognition for exceptional performance. This would imply that it exceeds acceptable standards and should not be equated to a pass mark.

As I pointed out earlier, there has been a marked improvement in the submission of performance portfolios by municipalities. I believe this affirms the commitment by municipal management to raise their service standards and performance for the benefit of our communities. In addition it is my view that our incentive-based regulatory approach has succeeded in raising overall awareness that will lead to sustainable improvement in the management of drinking water quality across the country.

I must also express my appreciation to municipalities for their cooperation which has resulted in such a remarkable increase in submission of evidence for the Blue Drop assessment and thus we have a one hundred percent (100 %) municipal coverage. This means that for the first time, the regulator has a complete database of exact strengths and gaps per municipality and per water supply system from where gradual and sustainable improvement can monitored.

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that a total of 66 water supply systems have been awarded the prestigious Blue Drop Certificates for the 2010/2011 assessment period. This is an increase of 74% from the 38 systems that received blue drop awards in 2010. I am sure you will agree with me that this is indeed good progress. The names of all 66 certified systems are mentioned in the report, but I wish to share with you the Top 10 municipal performers in the 2011 Blue Drop reporting cycle:

1. City of Johannesburg
2. City of Cape Town
3. Ekurhuleni Metro
4. Witzenburg Local Municipality
5. West Coast District Municipality
6. Tlokwe Local Municipality
7. George Local Municipality
8. Mogale City Local Municipality
9. Bitou Local Municipality
10. Emfuleni Local Municipality

Well done and hearty congratulations to all of these municipalities.

The 2011 Blue Drop results for municipal drinking water quality for this assessment period are pleasing overall. However there remain gaps which need to be closed in the quality of water services management in our country.

The following should be noted in the blue drop results.

• The number of water supply systems that obtained Blue Drop scores of more than 50% increased to 536 (59%) compared with 370 (47%) in 2010. The number of systems scoring less than 50% decreased from 53% (417) to 41% (378). Both score sets reflect positive improvements in the sector.
• As I have already said, there has been an overall improvement in the Blue Drop assessment results. Therefore after three years we can now see a positive trend in the way drinking water quality is being managed.

My aim for the next two years would be to ensure that those underperforming municipalities, where the communities health is at risk, are brought up to speed. I will engage at political level with the newly elected mayors and councillors of such municipalities whilst officials of my department will apply the necessary regulatory measures and support tools to rectify the situation.

Green Drop Results

I now turn to the Green Drop report, which measures the performance of waste water treatment works. The 2011 Green Drop report is based on an assessment process conducted by a team of some 70 assessors from August 2010. This team is made up of a trained group who not only assess the performance but they also ensure that regulatory advice is given to municipal waste water management on required improvements.

The main objective of this regulation approach is to create a target for waste water management excellence which has been set at a 90% Green Drop score measured against stringent criteria.

However the challenges remain present in South African wastewater management. The following should be noted:

• The number of systems that scored more than 50% increased from 216 in 2009 to 460 in 2011. We should also note that the number of systems increased from 449 assessed in 2009 to 821 in 2011. This is an increase of 83% in the number of systems assessed and it is an improvement and provides for a more accurate baseline of information from which sustainable improvement should be facilitated.
• The number of systems awarded with Green Drop certification therefore rose from 33 to 40. This increase is despite the fact that 20 of the previous recipients of the Green Drop certificates fell of the wagon as it were, and lost their certification status. However we are encouraged by the fact that 26 systems are being awarded the Green Drop status for the first time.
•  The average percentage deviation toward maximum cumulative risk rating for the country increased from 66.8 % to 69.2 %. This tells us that local government capacity building is still required to ensure sustainable improvement.

The entire list of municipalities that have received excellence Green Drops is provided in the report. But I would however like to tell you the names of the Top 10 Green Drop Performers:

1. Tlokwe Local Municipality
2. Bitou Local Municipality
3. eThekwini Metro
4. George Local Municipality
5. City of Johannesburg
6. Witzenburg Local Municipality
7. Beaufort West Local Municipality
8. Mossel Bay Local Municipality
9. Overstrand Local Municipality
10. City of Cape Town

I want to congratulate all the municipalities that have received these prestigious awards. You should know that these are not just handed out willy nilly, but that the municipalities which receive them are truly deserving.

In conclusion: We take cognisance of the fact that the improvement of wastewater services cannot be facilitated by means of regulation alone. It is for this reason that this department will go forward in its attempt to intensify its involvement in the multi-department sector support, and capacity building initiatives. One of the biggest interventions would be the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) by the department to ensure that dilapidated infrastructure is improved. Another would be the roll-out of the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme (ACIP) that ensures the rectification of wastewater mechanical and civil infrastructure.

I have also recently called an infrastructure indaba with provincial stakeholders as well as water boards and following from that I have now instructed my department to draft a comprehensive investment framework to address the critical challenges we are facing as a country due to the lack of sufficient water infrastructure.

But we will not shy away from intensifying conventional regulation in terms of issuing directives and following all possible legal avenues where it is found that commitment towards improvement is lacking.

My department will further investigate means of facilitating ways to improve both wastewater and drinking water quality management. We will seek to partner local government in this endeavour to ensure the sustainable enhancement of the business.

Thank you

Issued by the Department of Water Affairs, June 30 2011

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