Sustainable access to clean and safe water is a constitutional right of all South Africans. It is also both implicitly and explicitly a subject of a range of international human rights instruments to which South Africa is a state party. In addition to section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), which guarantees everyone the right to have access to sufficient water, legislation put in place by the government to ensure its realization include Water Services Act (1997) and the National Water Act (1998), and other subsidiary legislation and guidelines, namely, GNR.509 of June 8, 2001, relating to compulsory national standards and measures to conserve water. This is not unexpected as water of desirable quality and quantity is a basic need for any striving economy in the world. Water has positive link to health outcomes in all nations of the world. The consumption of contaminated water has led to the death of millions of people globally. One of the major points of source pollution of water resources is the discharge of wastewater. Wastewater is now considered as a resource rather than waste and is a major aspect of the hydrological system. This chapter reports on the various laws and policy governing water supply in South Africa as well as the current state of water and wastewater infrastructure in South Africa.
Elsevier, Water Conservation and Wastewater Treatment in BRICS Nations, 2020, Pages 187-211
