Free tools · Drinking water · Northern Cape
Is the tap water safe in Joe Morolong?
The government’s latest official rating puts 8 of the 18 drinking-water systems in Joe Morolong at high or critical risk, and 10 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.
- 8 of 18Drinking-water systems at high or critical riskBlue Drop risk 2024
- 1 of 2Sewage works in a critical stateGreen Drop 2024, below 31%
- HighWater losses riskNo Drop 2025, 70.0%
Each drinking-water system, 2024
| System | Risk |
|---|---|
| Bothetheletsa Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M2 | High 84.5% |
| Bothithong Groundwater Management Area D41G-04 | Critical 90.3% |
| Churchill Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M10 | High 74.2% |
| Dithakong Groundwater Management Area D41G-02 | Medium 64.9% |
| Gasehunelo Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M9 | Medium 65.4% |
| Gasese Groundwater Management Area D41L-K10 | High 80.8% |
| Heiso Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M8 | Medium 64.9% |
| Hotazel | Medium 51.3% |
| Kikahela Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M1 | High 89.4% |
| Laxey Groundwater Management Area D41G-05 | High 76.9% |
| Maipeng Groundwater Management Area D41L-K9 | Medium 64.9% |
| Mamatwan/Hotazel Ground water Management Area D41K-G2 | High 84.1% |
| Manyeding A Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M5 | Low 36.4% |
| Manyeding Lower Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M6 | Low 27.8% |
| Metsetswaneng Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M7 | Low 27.8% |
| Tsineng Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M11 | Medium 67.6% |
| Van Zylsrus (Boreholes) | Low 29.3% |
| Ward 1 Heuningvlei Area | High 88.6% |
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 Joe Morolong Local 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 Northern Cape has each system’s full scorecard: Blue Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025: Northern 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, 1 of the 2 works in Joe Morolong was in a critical state.
| Works | Score | Category | Releases into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotazel | 31.3% | Very poor | Irrigation Dam |
| VanZylsrus | 25.0% | Critical state | No Discharge |
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 Joe Morolong Local Municipality’s management of water losses at high risk (70.0%; below 50% is low risk, 90% or more critical). In 2023/24, 50% 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 (18 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bothetheletsa Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M2 | 16.1% | Critical state |
| Bothithong Groundwater Management Area D41G-04 | 16.1% | Critical state |
| Churchill Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M10 | 16.1% | Critical state |
| Dithakong Groundwater Management Area D41G-02 | 14.3% | Critical state |
| Gasehunelo Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M9 | 13.8% | Critical state |
| Gasese Groundwater Management Area D41L-K10 | 11.3% | Critical state |
| Heiso Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M8 | 11.7% | Critical state |
| Hotazel | 38.8% | Very poor |
| Kikahela Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M1 | 14.6% | Critical state |
| Laxey Groundwater Management Area D41G-05 | 12.8% | Critical state |
| Maipeng Groundwater Management Area D41L-K9 | 12.8% | Critical state |
| Mamatwan/Hotazel Ground water Management Area D41K-G2 | 12.8% | Critical state |
| Manyeding A Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M5 | 12.8% | Critical state |
| Manyeding Lower Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M6 | 12.8% | Critical state |
| Metsetswaneng Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M7 | 11.3% | Critical state |
| Tsineng Groundwater Management Area: D41L-M11 | 13.8% | Critical state |
| Van Zylsrus (Boreholes) | 15.5% | Critical state |
| Ward 1 Heuningvlei Area | 12.8% | Critical state |
Elsewhere in John Taolo Gaetsewe
- Ga-Segonyana (Kuruman)19 of 24
- Gamagara0 of 3
Drinking-water systems at high or critical risk, of all those rated.
More for Joe Morolong
- Joe Morolong on one pageEvery figure we hold, with its source
- Joe MorolongWards, 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: Northern Cape, Blue Drop Report 2023: Northern Cape, Green Drop Report 2025: Northern Cape, No Drop Progress Assessment Report 2025 (complete), through our water quality dataset, release 2026-11-12.