Census 2022: Access to flushing toilets and piped water at home increases for SA households

Four out of every five households in South Africa now had access to piped water, while seven out of every 10 households in the country had flushing toilets.

This was revealed by Statistics South Africa on Tuesday, from the 2022 Census report.

The Census showed that almost six out of every 10 households had piped water inside their dwelling, while another two out of every 10 people had piped water within the yard.

The data showed improvements in water access, with only 8.7 percent of households having no access to piped water, while a further 8.9 percent had access to piped water at a community stand or outside the yard.

The data showed that the Western Cape had the most access to piped water within the home, with 85.5 percent, followed by Gauteng with three out of every four households — or 75 percent and the Northern Cape, with 54.5 percent.

The data also showed that Limpopo had the biggest share of households relying on piped water at a community stand, with 18.3 percent.

In terms of households having access to piped water within the yard, but not inside the dwelling, the Free State had the most — with 43.2 percent.

The Census also revealed that 17.8 million households mainly relied on water from regional or local water schemes, with the figure standing at eight out of every 10 households. This was an increase from 74.7 percent in 2001 and 79.7 percent in 2011.

The data also showed that 5.8 percent of households got their water from a water tanker and 4.6 percent relied on a borehole, while two percent relied on rain water tanks.

In terms of water interruptions, four out of every 10 households in the country reported water interruptions, with the Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, the Free State and KZN the hardest hit, with six out of every 10 households experiencing water interruptions.

Commenting on water access, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africans should have the utmost confidence in the numbers presented by Stats SA and said it was now up to him and his government to utilise the data to improve water provision for those government had not reached.

“We now need to increase the number of people with piped water in their homes. It is no longer a dream. Some thought they will never have piped water. We have now reached 82 percent,” Ramaphosa said.

“All this shows a great deal of progress. It has told us where we are making progress. As I look at these figures, I don't look at them with glass tinted glasses. I look at them with more emphasis, we can give our people a better life and reach out to those who don't have,” he said.

“In the end, we want to leave no one behind. This shows we can get there, we will get there. This is an invaluable tool for me and those I serve the nation with in government.”

SANITATION

Meanwhile; the Census data also showed flushing toilets at home had increased from 51.9 percent of households in 2001 to seven out of every 10 households in 2022.

The data, however, suggested there was a bottleneck or no progress in eradicating bucket toilets, as it remained at 2.1 percent between the 2011 and 2022 Census, while there was progress in reducing pit toilets without ventilation from 19.3 percent in 2011 to 12.5 percent in 2022.

In terms of pit toilets with ventilation or ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, these increased from 8.8 percent in 2011 to 9.4 percent in 2022.

Just 1.6 percent of households had no type of toilet facility at their homes, the data showed.

The Northern Cape had the highest share of households with no toilet facility, with 4.5 percent of those households found in that province.

IOL