Geraldine Norton, a grandmother in Musina, Limpopo, says unreliable municipal water supply has forced her grandchildren to wipe themselves with cloths instead of bathing before school, despite her household qualifying for free basic services under the indigent support programme for more than two decades.
“The children cannot always bathe before going to school,” Norton said. “They just wipe themselves with a cloth. If water becomes available later in the afternoon when it is warmer, they can then take a proper bath.” She added that there are times when the toilet cannot be flushed because there is not enough water, causing smells to spread through the house. “It is not a Healthy environment for anyone to live in.”
Norton said her family often has to buy water because the municipal supply is unreliable. “We are not using the 6,000 litres of water the municipality says we consume because we rarely have water. For a long time we have had to buy water, so I don’t understand how they calculate our water usage.” She said municipal officials seldom visit to read water meters. “The last time someone came to read my water meter was last year. This year I have not seen anyone from the municipality.”
The family’s water and electricity accounts are linked, she said, meaning they are sometimes unable to buy prepaid electricity if they owe money on their water account. “If we don’t pay the water bill, they don’t first tell us that we owe money. They simply block us.”
Musina Local Municipality says it spends more than R6.4 million a year providing free basic services to 3,842 indigent households. Under its indigent support programme, qualifying households receive free basic water, electricity and other municipal services. The policy states the programme is intended to ensure households affected by unemployment and poverty have access to at least basic municipal services. Recently, the municipality called on qualifying households earning below the income threshold to register for the 2026/27 indigent support programme. But Norton said the support means little when there is no reliable water supply.
Norton’s experience is not unique. Earlier this year, Health-e News reported how prolonged water shortages in Musina were affecting elderly residents, with some using their social grants to buy water and struggling to maintain basic hygiene. In neighbouring villages in the Vhembe district, residents said persistent shortages had forced people to share drinking water sources with livestock.
Public health researchers say reliable access to water is essential for maintaining basic hygiene and sanitation. A recent study in Limpopo found that inadequate water access and poor hygiene conditions increase the risk of water-related illness. According to the study’s authors, improved water infrastructure remains critical to protecting community health. Dr Ntlotleng Mabena, a public health specialist, said households also need support to ensure the water they do receive is safe for drinking and domestic use. “There is a need for ongoing community education on practical ways to improve water quality and ensure that water is safe for household use,” Mabena said.
By the time of publication, Musina Local Municipality and Vhembe District Municipality had not responded to Health-e News questions seeking clarity on how water consumption is calculated when residents say water meters are seldom read, and what steps are being taken to ensure indigent households consistently receive their full allocation of free basic services.
