South Africa’s water systems face significant pressure from ageing infrastructure, pollution, climate variability and inconsistent monitoring. At the recent Citizen Science Water symposium hosted by The Independent Institute of Education’s (IIE) MSA, researchers, government officials and NGOs agreed that greater public participation in water quality monitoring is essential to address these challenges.
Linda Downsborough, Head of Environmental Science at IIE MSA, said that “Equipping citizens with the knowledge and tools to collect water quality data can help bridge information gaps and inform faster interventions. Our goal is to capacitate communities to recognise and respond to threats of water safety, and to transform them from passive recipients of information into active participants in safeguarding their water resources.”
South Africa loses almost half of its potable water through leaks and system inefficiencies, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation. Over three million South Africans still lack basic access to water, and nearly one in five have no access to safely managed sanitation. In rural areas, only 36.7% of residents have safely managed water services, compared with 71.8% in urban areas.
Delegates at the symposium noted that without standardised national testing protocols, results from community monitoring efforts can vary, depending on the quality of testing strips, sampling methods and handling. Developing low-cost, user-friendly kits that can be used regardless of education level or language is a priority.
Vanessa Stippel, lecturer in Environmental Science at IIE MSA discussed the Institutions Water Quality Monitoring Initiative, which provides students with practical experience in assessing river health using field-based tools such as miniSASS.
“When participants are invested, they are more likely to share knowledge within their communities, creating a multiplier effect,” she said. “This initiative enhances students’ understanding of environmental science but also fosters a sense of responsibility and advocacy for water conservation in their communities.”
Speakers from the Department of Water and Sanitation stressed the need for a centralised national database for citizen-collected data. Currently, much of the information gathered by communities is not incorporated into official reporting, slowing government’s response to emerging threats such as cholera outbreaks.
The Water Research Commission‘s Bonani Madikizela emphasised that citizen science can also help address unemployment by training young people to conduct water monitoring, interpret results, and contribute to environmental management projects. “Education and skills transformation are key to preparing the next generation to solve real-world problems,” he said.
The symposium concluded that with targeted investment in training, tools and data integration, citizen science could play a central role in safeguarding water quality across South Africa.
