News

WaterCAN tests water in Hammanskraal – free from cholera but unsafe to drink


WaterCAN has found that water from three of four taps tested in Hammanskraal is not safe to drink. This includes a tap at one of the tanker filling up points. WaterCAN has provided the City of Tshwane with these test results. 
WaterCAN, an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA),...

01.06.2023 22:52:15
We tried to lay criminal charges against Joburg for water pollution – the SAPS didn’t know how


 Municipalities are now the biggest water polluter in South Africa. It is estimated that since 2017, 50,000 litres of sewage seeps into our rivers every second. According to an article by Anja du Plessis, an associate professor at Unisa, in Johannesburg the water crisis can be attributed to poo...

24.05.2023 17:29:41
WaterCAN tests Joburg water


WaterCAN, an initiative of Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), has recently conducted testing of water quality at various public points around the City of Johannesburg. 
The first batch of testing was conducted in Cosmo City, Chartwell, Diepsloot, Morningside, Linbro Park, Lindhurst, Linksfie...

03.05.2023 05:18:16
WaterCAN not surprised over Cholera outbreak linked to polluted South African rivers


South Africa has seen an alarming increase in cholera cases over the past few months, with 10 confirmed cases so far. However, given the state of our rivers and streams, it is likely that many cases go undiagnosed or untreated. 
Water activist group, WaterCAN, has called for urgent action to avo...

30.03.2023 21:40:57
Ethekwini Municipality urged to act and save the Umbilo River


WaterCAN, an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), and Durban-based non-profit Adopt-a-River have written to the eThekwini Municipality to immediately address the dangerously high levels of E-coli in the Umbilo River. 
The two organisations conducted a series of E. coli tests ...

16.03.2023 17:35:46
WaterCAN calls for urgent action to save South Africa’s rivers from sewage pollution


Over the past few months, WaterCAN has tested the quality of water in the Umbilo River in eThekwini and the Klein Jukskei River in Johannesburg, and found critical levels of E.coli from sewage in both. The International Day of Action For Rivers on 14 March focuses on saving, celebrating and creating...

15.03.2023 20:28:33
No water in Joburg and no action either


WaterCAN and the Johannesburg Water Crisis Committee (JWCC) believe that the City of Johannesburg’s water entity, Johannesburg Water, is not addressing the water crisis with the urgency it requires and is not keeping the public informed. WaterCAN is an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abus...

15.02.2023 01:07:57

MAP MY WATER: WaterCAN launches new digital tool for water champions

Test your water, upload your results and help WaterCAN build a public online map of water quality

Image: WaterCAN

Today (Tuesday 14 February) WaterCAN an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) launches Map My Water, ...
14.02.2023 23:25:35
Water activists join hands to highlight dire state of eThekwini Metro’s rivers


WaterCAN, a water-focused initiative driven by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) and Adopt-a-River, a KZN based non-profit organisation working on key waterways, have joined hands on one of Durban’s key river systems. The two groups of water activists have committed to undertake a series of ...

08.02.2023 20:25:23
South Africa’s sewage pollution crisis is impacting our food safety


The 2022 theme for World Toilet Day on 19 November is “making the invisible visible” as the focus is on sewage spills into groundwater. In South Africa, sewage pollution is anything but invisible and in the past year, much has been said and written about it. 
Since 2013, the United Nations obser...

17.11.2022 19:47:05