ENG1502 Assignment 3 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2024
(720331) - DUE 22 August 2024
Water crisis in South Africa
A new report by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation paints a grim picture of the
quality of the country’s drinking water, and its water infrastructure. The Blue Drop Audit Report
is meant to ensure that water service authorities are held accountable for providing safe drinking
water. The audit report found that the quality of the country’s drinkable water is getting worse.
Nearly half (46%) of all water supply systems pose acute human health risks because of bacteria
or other pathogens in the drinking water supply. The report also found that more than two thirds
(67.6%) of all wastewater treatment works are close to failure. On top of this it showed that over
47% of all clean and treated water was lost through leaks, or could not be accounted for. The
national Blue Drop Risk Rating is an assessment focused on critical risk areas within water
services. It looks at water supply systems at a specific moment in time. This year’s report
showed that the overall risk had dropped from 52.3% in 2022 to 47.15% in 2023 after some
water supply systems made improvements and improved their risk category from critical or high
to medium or low risk. But this should not be celebrated. To achieve Blue Drop certification,
water supply systems must meet 95% of the criteria for delivering clean, drinkable water – and
only 26 of South Africa’s 958 water supply systems managed this. The report found that several
water supply systems were operating close to or beyond their design capacity. Monitoring and
compliance were severely deficient. This makes fixing problems impossible as the scale of the
issues at stake are not being identified. The report said that in 23 parts of the country, water
supply systems are in “poor and critical condition”. Almost half of all water supply systems
(46%) do not comply with microbiological standards. In these water supply systems, drinking
water is contaminated by sewage and bacteria. Viruses and parasites such as Legionella and
Cyanobacteria may have grown in the piped water systems and or water sources. These present
acute health risks, such as gastro illnesses with diarrhoea usually being the prime symptom.
Other primary waterborne illnesses can include cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid.
Another problem the report highlighted was that more than half of the country’s municipalities
(57%) do not notify water users when they discover that the water has been contaminated. Not
issuing notices or warnings of contaminated drinking water places citizens at risk of contracting
waterborne illnesses and is an unacceptable practice due to the possible serious health
repercussions of drinking contaminated water. Anja Du Plessis, 9 December 2023 Source:
1. What is the writer’s purpose with this text? Support the answer by referring closely to the text.
(10 marks)
The writer's purpose with this text is to inform and raise awareness about the concerning state of
South Africa's drinking water quality and water infrastructure, as revealed by the Blue Drop
Audit Report.
(720331) - DUE 22 August 2024
Water crisis in South Africa
A new report by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation paints a grim picture of the
quality of the country’s drinking water, and its water infrastructure. The Blue Drop Audit Report
is meant to ensure that water service authorities are held accountable for providing safe drinking
water. The audit report found that the quality of the country’s drinkable water is getting worse.
Nearly half (46%) of all water supply systems pose acute human health risks because of bacteria
or other pathogens in the drinking water supply. The report also found that more than two thirds
(67.6%) of all wastewater treatment works are close to failure. On top of this it showed that over
47% of all clean and treated water was lost through leaks, or could not be accounted for. The
national Blue Drop Risk Rating is an assessment focused on critical risk areas within water
services. It looks at water supply systems at a specific moment in time. This year’s report
showed that the overall risk had dropped from 52.3% in 2022 to 47.15% in 2023 after some
water supply systems made improvements and improved their risk category from critical or high
to medium or low risk. But this should not be celebrated. To achieve Blue Drop certification,
water supply systems must meet 95% of the criteria for delivering clean, drinkable water – and
only 26 of South Africa’s 958 water supply systems managed this. The report found that several
water supply systems were operating close to or beyond their design capacity. Monitoring and
compliance were severely deficient. This makes fixing problems impossible as the scale of the
issues at stake are not being identified. The report said that in 23 parts of the country, water
supply systems are in “poor and critical condition”. Almost half of all water supply systems
(46%) do not comply with microbiological standards. In these water supply systems, drinking
water is contaminated by sewage and bacteria. Viruses and parasites such as Legionella and
Cyanobacteria may have grown in the piped water systems and or water sources. These present
acute health risks, such as gastro illnesses with diarrhoea usually being the prime symptom.
Other primary waterborne illnesses can include cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid.
Another problem the report highlighted was that more than half of the country’s municipalities
(57%) do not notify water users when they discover that the water has been contaminated. Not
issuing notices or warnings of contaminated drinking water places citizens at risk of contracting
waterborne illnesses and is an unacceptable practice due to the possible serious health
repercussions of drinking contaminated water. Anja Du Plessis, 9 December 2023 Source:
1. What is the writer’s purpose with this text? Support the answer by referring closely to the text.
(10 marks)
The writer's purpose with this text is to inform and raise awareness about the concerning state of
South Africa's drinking water quality and water infrastructure, as revealed by the Blue Drop
Audit Report.
