Proposed Statistics Amendment Bill Seeks Annual Potable Water Access Indicator

Posted 11 September 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Water & Sanitation

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: An explanatory summary has been gazetted regarding the intended introduction of a private member’s Statistics Amendment Bill to measure actual access to potable water in South Africa.

Under the Statistics Act, No. 6 of 1999, the Statistician-General oversees official statistics. The proposed legislative amendment intends to introduce a statutory obligation requiring the Statistician-General to formulate, calculate, and publish an annual potable water access indicator.

According to the gazetted pre-tabling executive summary, current official statistical metrics frequently rely on the physical presence of municipal water infrastructure—such as household taps or piped connections—as a proxy for potable water access. The draft bill aims to correct the conflation of physical infrastructure with actual, continuous service delivery.

The proposed legislative framework will require the indicator to assess water access based on whether water is:

  • Reliably and consistently available to the household;
  • Directly accessible on-premises or within verified proximity; and
  • Tested and verified as safe for human consumption in compliance with national potable water standards.

Public submissions and representations on the draft legislative proposals are required by 11 October 2026.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: No direct individual compliance obligations; representations on the draft indicators may be submitted prior to the 11 October 2026 deadline.
  • For your business: Water service intermediaries, engineering consultancies, and municipal advisory firms should track how the shift from asset-based reporting to quality-of-service metrics will affect local government key performance indicators (KPIs) and compliance reporting.
  • For your clients: Municipal clients, commercial property developers, and industrial water consumers face potential adjustments in municipal water reliability reporting, impacting ESG metrics, environmental compliance audits, and local municipal infrastructure allocations.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/potable-water-mk-to-table-legislation-ensuring-accurate-access-statistics

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