'SA not on a brink of a water crisis'

Acting Deputy Director General for Water Affairs, Helgard Muller, says South Africa is not on the brink of a water crisis. He says the water supply is far from becoming as bad as the electricity fiasco.

Muller says the quality of tap water in South Africa has improved since 2005, when only 40% of tap water in South African towns was monitored.

He says 90% of the country's towns and cities tapwater is monitored and only 6% does not comply with the standards set by the SABS.

"The larger majority of South African people are supplied with safe drinking water especially those who are residing in cities and bigger towns.

"In some of the smaller towns there is an adequate treatment resulting in that drinking water quality from time to time may not comply with the national standard. On average we got a 94 compliance with our national standard."

Over the weekend, the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) urged the South African government to manage its water resources much more seriously. It also warned that the country will soon begin to face serious water shortages if efforts to conserve the commodity are not intensified.