Free tools · Drinking water · KwaZulu-Natal
Is the tap water safe in Greater Kokstad?
The government’s latest official rating puts 3 of the 21 drinking-water systems of the Harry Gwala District Municipality at high or critical risk, and 18 at low or medium risk. It’s the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Blue Drop risk assessment of 2024, published in March 2026.
This is the government’s latest official assessment (published in March 2026, on data from July 2023 to June 2024), not a live test of your tap water or a guarantee that it’s safe.
Water in Greater Kokstad is the responsibility of the Harry Gwala District Municipality, so the figures here are for all the district’s systems and works, not only those in Greater Kokstad. The district also supplies Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Johannes Phumani Phungula and Umzimkhulu.
- 3 of 21Drinking-water systems at high or critical riskBlue Drop risk 2024, district
- 4 of 12Sewage works in a critical stateGreen Drop 2024, below 31%
- LowWater losses riskNo Drop 2025, 46.7%
Each drinking-water system, 2024
| System | Risk |
|---|---|
| Bulwer | Low 32.6% |
| Chibini | High 89.0% |
| Creighton | Low 32.8% |
| Esiqandulweni | Low 48.9% |
| Franklin | Low 36.5% |
| Hlanganani/Polela | Low 29.5% |
| Ibisi | Low 48.0% |
| Ixopo | Low 22.1% |
| Kokstad | Low 32.9% |
| Machunwini | Critical 96.8% |
| Mangwaneni WTW | Low 30.9% |
| Mnqumeni WTW | Medium 58.7% |
| Mqatsheni WTW | Low 30.5% |
| Njunga | Critical 96.4% |
| Nokweja | Low 34.9% |
| Rietvlei | Medium 51.3% |
| Riverside | Low 32.1% |
| St Apollinaris | Low 35.3% |
| Umzimkhulu | Low 37.2% |
| Underberg | Low 37.2% |
| Washbank/Highlands | Low 34.9% |
The department’s risk rating for each system, from its Blue Drop risk assessment of 2024 (data from July 2023 to June 2024). Below 50% is low risk; 90% or more is critical.
What the ratings mean
The Department of Water and Sanitation rates each drinking-water system’s risk from four things: the size of its treatment works and how close it runs to capacity (35% of the rating), whether its water met the national drinking-water standard, SANS 241, in tests, and whether enough tests were done (35%), the skills of its staff (20%), and whether it has a water safety plan (10%).
The rating is a share of the worst possible score, so higher is worse: below 50% is low risk, 50% to under 70% medium, 70% to under 90% high, and 90% or more critical. It describes how a system was run and tested over a year, not the water in your glass today.
Your water today
For the water in your tap today, ask the Harry Gwala District Municipality. It’s responsible for the water here and issues boil-water notices. If it issues one, follow it.
The department’s report for KwaZulu-Natal has each system’s full scorecard: Blue Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025: KwaZulu-Natal.
Sewage works
Sewage works don’t supply your tap, but what they release flows into rivers and dams, and the department’s Green Drop report links poorly treated sewage to risks for public health downstream. In its audit for 2024, 4 of the 12 works the district runs were in a critical state.
| Works | Score | Category | Releases into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulwer | 39.2% | Very poor | Ngudwini River |
| Franklin | 35.9% | Very poor | No Discharge |
| Himeville | 27.8% | Critical state | Pholena River |
| Ibisi | 27.8% | Critical state | Ibisi |
| Ixopo | 81.7% | Good | Xhobo River |
| Kokstad | 50.2% | Average | Umzintlava River |
| Mzimkulu | 39.8% | Very poor | Mzimkhulu River |
| Polela | 30.1% | Critical state | Ngudwini River |
| Riverside | 16.6% | Critical state | Not printed |
| St. Apollinaris | 32.3% | Very poor | Not printed |
| Underberg | 38.8% | Very poor | Not printed |
| Underberg New | 35.4% | Very poor | Not printed |
Green Drop audit for 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024), published in March 2026. The department’s categories: 90% or more is excellent, 80% good, 50% average, 31% very poor, and below 31% a critical state. Higher is better. “Releases into” is where the works discharges, as the report prints it.
Water losses
The department’s No Drop assessment of 2025 rates the Harry Gwala District Municipality’s management of water losses at low risk (46.7%; below 50% is low risk, 90% or more critical). In 2023/24, 37% of the water it put into its pipes was never billed: lost to leaks and bursts, taken illegally, or used without a bill. The department rates the accuracy of those figures as low (estimated). Its report counts more than 40% as extremely poor, and less than 10% as excellent.
The last full audit: Blue Drop scores, 2023 (21 systems)
The full Blue Drop audit of July 2021 to June 2022, published in 2023. Higher is better: 95% or more is excellent, and below 31% a critical state. Systems may be named differently from 2024.
| System | Score | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Bulwer | 70.5% | Average |
| Chibini | 29.0% | Critical state |
| Creighton | 57.4% | Average |
| Esiqandulweni | 54.1% | Average |
| Franklin | 58.1% | Average |
| Hlanganani/Polela | 69.0% | Average |
| Ibisi | 72.3% | Average |
| Ixopo | 85.9% | Good |
| Kokstad | 84.0% | Good |
| Machunwini | 22.8% | Critical state |
| Mangwaneni WTW | 37.0% | Very poor |
| Mnqumeni WTW | 34.9% | Very poor |
| Mqatsheni WTW | 53.9% | Average |
| Njunga | 35.3% | Very poor |
| Nokweja | 62.5% | Average |
| Rietvlei | 48.0% | Very poor |
| Riverside | 49.1% | Very poor |
| St Apollinaris | 56.6% | Average |
| Umzimkhulu | 57.1% | Average |
| Underberg | 54.1% | Average |
| Washbank/Highlands | 49.0% | Very poor |
Elsewhere in Harry Gwala
- Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma3 of 21
- Johannes Phumani Phungula3 of 21
- Umzimkhulu3 of 21
Drinking-water systems at high or critical risk, of all those rated.
More for Greater Kokstad
- Greater Kokstad on one pageEvery figure we hold, with its source
- Greater KokstadWards, electricity, water
- Is your tap water safe?Our story
- Every municipalityTap water nationally
Source: Department of Water and Sanitation, Blue Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025: KwaZulu-Natal, Blue Drop Report 2023: KwaZulu-Natal, Green Drop Report 2025: KwaZulu-Natal, No Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025 (complete), through our water quality dataset, release 2026-11-12.