The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has committed to effectively implement the recently re-launched Blue and Green Drop Certification Programmes, which call for excellent drinking water and wastewater quality management in the country.

The programmes are being reinstated following the Presidency’s commitment to fast-track the delivery of economic reforms through Operation Vulindlela which aims to fast-track service delivery in various sectors of society.

The Department has since rolled up its sleeves to make sure compliance to legislation takes cause and remains dedicated to ensure risks revealed through these programmes are managed and abated in order to enhance the work of the Department as a water sector regulator.

“The Blue and Green Drop programmes will be reinstated alongside other measures to strengthen the water quality monitoring system. These enhancements will provide a strong foundation for the establishment of an independent regulator for the water sector to ensure rational pricing and effective monitoring of service standards,” said Acting Deputy Director-General Leonardo Manus, responsible for Compliance, Monitoring and Evaluation.

The Department said it continues to monitor municipalities for compliance purposes and maintained that several enforcement actions are being taken against transgressors. It also admitted that although the Green and Blue Drop audits done in 2016/17 were not released to the public, the results were nonetheless released to the individual municipalities.

The last Green Drop and Blue Drop reports were published in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Therefore, the Department’s resuscitation of the programmes aims to undertake full Green Drop audit and Blue Drop partial assessment in 2021, and a full Blue Drop audit and a Green Drop partial assessment in 2022.

“The 2013 Green Drop Municipal Performance and 2014 Blue Drop Performance outcomes are available on the Department’s web-based performance system, which is available to the public. The public is most welcome to peruse the documents in order to get an understanding of the work being carried out in their respective municipalities,” said Manus.

The programmes were recently reinstated by DWS in conjunction with its entity, the Water Research Commission during a public webinar on 29 June 2021, with great support from Water Services Institutions, the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and private entities.

Speaking during the webinar, the Department’s Acting Director-General, Deborah Mochotlhi expressed that she was confident that the programmes will help enhance the state of water infrastructure and ultimately provide the public with good quality water.

“As a sector, we have heeded the call by President Ramaphosa and I am confident that these programmes will take the Department to a higher trajectory as we perform our regulatory mandate”, she said.

Mochotlhi added that she believed that through the programmes, some municipalities will be propelled to ensure the state of wastewater treatment and water infrastructure at municipal level is up to standard.

The Department has reiterated its assurance to the public that it will continue to fasten its hand on municipalities in order to ensure that water services received by citizens of this country are of acceptable quality and standard.

“The Department uses its regulatory and support arms to identify challenges and address them as early as practically possible, ideally before any emergency situation. Therefore, the role of the Blue and Green Drop certification programmes are key in this process and will continue to prove its value going forward”, Mochotlhi concluded.