A new report by advocacy group WaterCAN has revealed that nearly 40% of water samples tested at South African schools are unsafe to drink.
The month-long project saw pupils from 95 schools test tap, tank and river water, with most samples showing contamination and low pH levels.
The report further reveals that pupils in rural schools are forced to bring water from home for use, with some schools relying on streams or rainwater for daily use.
Dr Ferrial Adam is the executive manager of WaterCAN.
“It is very concerning that young people have to depend on this kind of water in their everyday use. A lot of the schools from the 7 provinces we worked in, we trained people to test their water, the teachers and students and they would then test the water that they would be using for drinking. In many of the schools, they don’t have running water or tap water- so they tested their Jojo tanks- and we found that 73% of the Jojo tanks tested positive for bacteria, and it wasn’t low levels, it was quite high.”
Read the full report here: 2025-06-24-Final_School-Water-Testing-Project-Report
