Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in South Africa–Challenges of Microbiology Quality of Water Resources

As a developing and semi arid country, South Africa is faced with the challenges of maintaining the quality and quantity of its water resources. Different domestic and industrial activities have impacted on these two aspects of water management in South Africa. The Department of Water Affairs has identified and applied Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as a reliable practice to solve South African water problems. However, there are still many challenges that have been reported in recent years on aspects of South African water quality. One of the most important aspects of water management is the microbial quality of water. In this article, we looked at the framework of IWRM in South Africa and the microbiological quality of South African water resources. Other programmes such as National Microbial Water Quality Monitoring programme, Green drop certification programme and Blue drop certification programme that were introduced by DWA were also discussed.