Introduction

1. The Blue and Green Drop Reports(as Components of the Regulation of South African Water ServicesPresentation to the SELECT COMMITTEE ON LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS(NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES)22 November 2011

2. Introduction • The Departments Water Services Regulation unit introduced alternative regulation approaches with the primary objective of improving the quality of water services. • Conventional regulation has not been aborted and still forms part of the adopted Enforcement Protocol. • The world-renowned Blue Drop and Green Drop Certification programme forms part of the incentive-based regulation approach. • This programme enjoyed some success and certainly triggered a major paradigm shift within the wastewater service and drinking water quality management domain.

3. South African Water Services Regulation Approaches

4. Incentive-based RegulationObjectives • To create a platform for an all inclusive regulation model which creates a conducive environment for a paradigm shift from minimum requirement compliance towards continued risk management. • A new sector target was set; In pursuit of Excellence in Drinking Water Quality and Wastewater Services Management. • No longer was Minimum Requirements the target set by the regulatory regime. Positive momentum was generated towards sustainable improvement. • To improve public confidence by means of credible public reporting on water services performance.

5. To obtain certification A score of 95% is required; This would include adherence to Excellent Quality Requirements as stipulated by the WHO Guidelines

6. DWQ Information Availability • All DWQ information is available on the Blue Drop System: • www.dwa.gov.za/bluedrop • Or on the Mobi site: my-water.mobi • The site had more than 2 million visitors The Blue Drop Report provides credible information on municipal specific performance and identified risks. Copies available at www.dwa.gov.za/bluedrop, under “News”

7. 2011 Blue Drop Performance • 914 water supply systems were assessed • (in comparison with 787 in 2010 and 402 in 2009) • Number of Blue Drop certified systems increased from 25 (2009), 38 (2010) to 66 in 2011. • An overall trend of improvement was stimulated by this regulation programme since the national (weighted average) Blue Drop score increased from 51.4% (2009) to 72.9% (2011) • The compliance records of drinking water quality also improved from 93.3% (2009) to 97.2% (2011).

8. Water Safety Planning • This is a concept introduced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure that all possible risks are managed to ensure the continued supply of safe drinking water. • South Africa is noted as one of the countries in the world where this concept is developing fastest; as noted by the WHO and International Water Association. • 3. Even though 490 systems were found to have water safety plans in place, the Blue Drop Process revealed that 349 adhered to acceptable implementation requirements. Status of Water Safety Plan 200 180 160 76 26 140 48 120 29 100 36 55 86 80 19 21 60 15 100 24 25 12 40 67 9 12 54 4 22 33 34 20 28 29 23 7 3 0 KZN FS LMP NC WC EC GP MPU NW Unsatisfactory 0-29% Satisfactory 30%-60% Acceptable >60%

9. National Blue Drop Comparative Analyses