Cape Town - Western Cape municipalities came on top at the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) Blue and Green Drop Certifications awards as they displayed excellence and flair in the fields of drinking water quality and water resource management.
The awards were part of the release of the incentive-based regulatory reports held at the Emperor’s Palace in Ekurhuleni on December 5.
Ntombizanele Bila-Mupariwa, DWS Western Cape Provincial Head, hosted municipalities that performed very well in the province at an event in Cape Town yesterday, where she handed out certificates and awards.
She revealed that Overstrand received the highest number of systems that achieved blue drop status, namely: Baardskeerdersbos Supply System (99.7%); Buffeljags Bay Supply System (98.2%); Buffelsrivier Supply System (99.99%); Greater Gansbaai Supply System (99.99%); Greater Hermanus Supply System (99.99%); Kleinmond Supply System (99.99%); Pearly Beach Supply System (99.99%); and Stanford Supply System (99.99%).
TThe municipality was also the best performing Western Cape Water Service Authorities (WSA) in the country, with an overall Blue Drop score of 99.99%, taking 1st and 2nd positions in the Best Performing System, Best Provincial Risk Managers category, and also being the winners of the Best National Risk Managers category.
The City of Cape Town achieved a blue drop status for Cape Town (98.1%); they were also the 2nd runner-up for the Best Performing WSA in the Country with the overall blue drop score of 98.1; they also got the top position for the Best Technical Assessment score; Faure Water Treatment Works (WTW) achieved 98%; and Blackheath WTW took the 3rd position.
Bila-Mupariwa said the Blue and Green Drop are certification programmes administered to improve water quality by WSAs in South Africa.
“The Blue Drop programme aims to ensure compliance of water supply systems with the national drinking water quality standards, while the Green Drop programme aims to ensure compliance of wastewater treatment works with the national wastewater discharge standards. The No Drop regulatory programme was established to encourage the management of water losses through the DWS water conservation and demand management programme,” said Bila-Mupariwa.