The City of Ekurhuleni has been recognised for water excellence after a clean sweep performance at the 2026 Department of Water and Sanitation Awards.
The city achieved a standout national performance, securing first, second and third place rankings for top-performing wastewater systems, demonstrating operational excellence across multiple facilities.
MMC for Metro Trading Utilities, Jean Sthato, welcomed the recognition following the release of the reports by the Department of Water and Sanitation under the leadership of Minister Pemmy Majodina.
The Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop certification programmes remain critical regulatory instruments that assess municipal performance in drinking water quality, wastewater management, as well as water conservation and demand management.
These reports provide a transparent and evidence-based assessment of how municipalities are meeting their constitutional obligations to deliver safe, reliable and sustainable water services.
The city achieved the following accolades during the awards:
Six national green drop certifications (for the Benoni, Carl Grundlingh, Daveyton, Herbert Bickley, JP Marias and Welgedacht wastewater treatment plants)
Best performing systems (first top performing system 2025 for JP Marais wastewater system, second top performing system for Welgedacht wastewater system and third top performing system for Herbert Bickley wastewater system).
Sthato emphasised that this achievement is not accidental, but the result of deliberate investment and sustained institutional focus on water security and infrastructure development.
Central to this progress is the city’s Aqua Leap Programme, launched in 2016 as a long-term intervention to address water demand management and infrastructure constraints.
The programme has focused on the upgrading and construction of reservoirs, pressure management systems, the reduction of non-revenue water, and improving system efficiencies across the metro.
Through Aqua Leap, the city has been able to strengthen its water resilience by increasing storage capacity, stabilising supply in high-demand areas, and proactively managing water losses.
These interventions have positioned Ekurhuleni as a municipality that is actively responding to both current service delivery pressures and future water security risks.
Sthato noted that the outcomes of the Blue Drop and No Drop programmes, in particular, affirm the city’s commitment to safeguarding drinking water quality while driving responsible water usage.
“We welcome the outcomes of the Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop reports as a validation of the work we are doing to fix and modernise our water and sanitation systems,” she said.
“These results reflect the dedication of our technical teams and the impact of programmes such as Aqua Leap, which are fundamentally reshaping how we manage water in the city.
“While we are encouraged by this recognition, we remain focused on addressing remaining challenges, improving operational performance, and ensuring that every resident of Ekurhuleni has access to safe, reliable, and sustainable water services.
“We extend our congratulations to the city manager, Kagiso Lerutla, the business unit head of water and sanitation, Thokozane Maseko, and managing director of ERWAT, Kennedy Chihota, on the sterling work.”
Sthato reaffirmed that the city’s approach is aligned with the broader Fixing the Frontline programme, which prioritises the restoration of core service delivery functions, strengthening of infrastructure, and building internal capacity within municipal operations.
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