The water service provider, Silulumanzi, received a total of four Blue Drop awards from the minister of water and sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, at the Department of Water and Sanitation’s awards for top-performing municipalities, in Johannesburg on Tuesday December 5.

According to Silulumanzi’s spokesperson, Richmond Jele, the criteria utilised to award the prestigious Blue Drop took into account capacity management, drinking water quality risk management, financial management, technical management and drinking water quality compliance.

“The awards serve as a testimony for the good quality of water supply systems in Mbombela, Karino, Primkop and Matsulu, which have been operated on behalf of the City of Mbombela since 1999. Our customers can continue to be assured that the quality of water supplied by Silulumanzi is of a high standard and is safe to drink, as rated independently by auditors.”

He said Silulumanzi’s water has consistently been independently evaluated and certified Blue Drop since 2009 when these awards were first introduced in South Africa.

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“The public can safely consume Silulumanzi water directly from their taps at a comparatively lower cost compared to other service providers nationwide,” Jele said.

The Blue Drop report evaluated all the 958 water supply systems across 144 water services authorities in South Africa.

The evaluations considered factors such as infrastructure condition, maintenance, operation, treatment processes and staff expertise.