Free tools · Drinking water · Eastern Cape
Is the tap water safe in Ingquza Hill?
The government’s latest official rating puts 2 of the 21 drinking-water systems of the O.R.Tambo District Municipality at high or critical risk, and 19 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 Ingquza Hill is the responsibility of the O.R.Tambo District Municipality, so the figures here are for all the district’s systems and works, not only those in Ingquza Hill. The district also supplies King Sabata Dalindyebo, Kumkani Mhlontlo, Nyandeni and Port St Johns.
- 2 of 21Drinking-water systems at high or critical riskBlue Drop risk 2024, district
- 2 of 7Sewage works in a critical stateGreen Drop 2024, below 31%
- LowWater losses riskNo Drop 2025, 33.3%
Each drinking-water system, 2024
| System | Risk |
|---|---|
| Butongweni WTW | Critical 100.0% |
| Coffee Bay WTW | Low 38.6% |
| Corana WTW | Medium 53.3% |
| Flagstaff WTW | Low 34.7% |
| Lusikisiki WTW | Medium 50.0% |
| Lutsheko WTW | Medium 54.0% |
| Mangxamfu WTW | Critical 100.0% |
| Mdlankala WTW | Low 23.3% |
| Mhlahlane WTW | Low 44.4% |
| Mhlanga WTW | Low 33.9% |
| Mqanduli WTW | Medium 57.0% |
| Mvumelwano WTW | Low 30.7% |
| Ngqeleni WTW | Low 23.6% |
| Ngqongweni WTW | Low 26.7% |
| Port St Johns WTW | Low 28.7% |
| Rosedale WTW | Low 28.1% |
| Sidwadweni WTW | Low 19.2% |
| Thornhill WTW | Low 40.1% |
| Tsolo WTW | Low 31.0% |
| Umzimvubu WTW | Low 26.7% |
| Upper Chulunca WTW | Low 31.0% |
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 O.R.Tambo 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 the Eastern Cape has each system’s full scorecard: Blue Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025: Eastern Cape.
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, 2 of the 7 works the district runs were in a critical state.
| Works | Score | Category | Releases into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lusikisiki | 39.3% | Very poor | Amanzamnyama River |
| Mqanduli | 30.6% | Critical state | Manqondo River |
| Mthatha | 54.8% | Average | Mthatha River |
| Nqgeleni | 45.0% | Very poor | Mtakatye River |
| Port St Johns | 29.5% | Critical state | Stream. Not directly into Ocean |
| Qumbu | 43.1% | Very poor | No discharge due to low volume entering ponds |
| Tsolo | 33.0% | Very poor | Xhonkonxa River |
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 O.R.Tambo District Municipality’s management of water losses at low risk (33.3%; below 50% is low risk, 90% or more critical). In 2023/24, 59% 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 (20 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Butongweni | 39.0% | Very poor |
| Coffee Bay | 52.0% | Average |
| Corana | 56.6% | Average |
| Flagstaff | 54.3% | Average |
| Lusikisiki | 50.5% | Average |
| Mangxamfu | 36.4% | Very poor |
| Mdlankala | 44.9% | Very poor |
| Mhlahlane | 54.9% | Average |
| Mhlanga | 53.5% | Average |
| Mqanduli | 46.6% | Very poor |
| Mvumelwano | 62.4% | Average |
| Ngqeleni | 54.2% | Average |
| Ngqonweni | 48.1% | Very poor |
| Port St Johns | 53.8% | Average |
| Rosedale | 61.6% | Average |
| Sidwadweni | 66.0% | Average |
| Thornhill | 58.3% | Average |
| Tsolo | 56.0% | Average |
| Umzimvubu | 43.0% | Very poor |
| Upper Chulunca | 53.1% | Average |
Elsewhere in O.R.Tambo
- King Sabata Dalindyebo (Mthatha)2 of 21
- Kumkani Mhlontlo2 of 21
- Nyandeni2 of 21
- Port St Johns2 of 21
Drinking-water systems at high or critical risk, of all those rated.
More for Ingquza Hill
- Ingquza Hill on one pageEvery figure we hold, with its source
- Ingquza HillWards, 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: Eastern Cape, Blue Drop Report 2023: Eastern Cape, Green Drop Report 2025: Eastern Cape, No Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025 (complete), through our water quality dataset, release 2026-11-12.