E-Coli findings in South African schools drinking water “highly concerning”, says WaterCAN

Early results from the WaterCAN Schools Water Testing Project have revealed alarming findings, with nearly 10% of participating schools already recording high levels of E-coli in their drinking water.

With a final tally of just under 150 schools across the country participating in the schools water testing programme, at least 14 water test results thus far have been flagged as dangerously unsafe with more results still expected.

The school testing results further confirms WaterCAN’s concerns about South Africa’s deepening water and waste water crisis and amplifies findings of the Green Drop Report as well as the Blue and No Drop progress reports released last month by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

WaterCAN has issued urgent letters to the affected schools and relevant local authorities, calling for immediate intervention.

WaterCAN’s Citizen Science and Training Coordinator, Nomsa Daele, said the results were “highly concerning” because they indicate possible faecal contamination and pose a direct health risk to learners and staff and further deepen WaterCAN’s concern that South Africa’s water crisis is in critical state following years of decline.

“The presence of E. coli in drinking water is particularly serious and requires urgent attention, as it may lead to waterborne illnesses. Ensuring safe drinking water in schools is critical to protecting the health, dignity, and wellbeing of children. Although these are indicator tests, they serve as an important early warning of contamination. We have advised the schools to exercise caution and avoid using the water for drinking purposes until the matter is resolved,” said Daele.

Daele said WaterCAN had asked municipalities responsible for supplying water to the affected schools to:

• conduct confirmatory water quality testing at the schools;
• investigate the source of the contamination; and
• take immediate corrective action to ensure the water is safe for consumption.

“Given the potential risk to children’s health, we urgently need a prompt response and action on this matter,” said Daele.

Using WaterCAN’s Citizen Science Testing Kit, participating schools have been testing their water and uploading the results to WaterCAN’s MapMyWater Portal. Sponsored by the French Embassy in South Africa, the portal is a flagship WaterCAN initiative that provides real-time analysis of uploaded results while making them publicly accessible, helping to build one of South Africa’s largest independent, citizen-generated water quality datasets.

Daele said 2026 marks a near doubling in the number of participating schools compared with the previous year, and that reaching all nine provinces is a sign of how important the schools project has become.

WaterCAN’s partners are Adopt-a-River, Enviro Vito, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Rhodes University, the Nelson Mandela Bay Science Centre, the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, the Cape Town Science Centre, the Institute for Water Research and the LEAP Institute.

The WaterCAN Schools Water Testing Project ran from 16-27 March with many schools still testing into April.