The SA Institute of Race Relations says 22.2 million people had obtained access to piped water between 1996 and 2013.
In its latest survey, the Institute said that works out to an average of 1.3 million per year, or 109 000 people every month.
Researcher, Mienke Steytler, says overall there were 47.5 million people with access to piped water in 2013 while the number of people who have access to electricity follows closely at 47 million people.
She says this is the highest number of people with access to any basic service offered by the State which is a good news story for South Africa.
However, Steytler says there is a downside.
“The bad news is that there is evidence of neglect of the maintenance of water infrastructure. Water shortages could lead to widespread food shortage for livestock, among other challenges; while water pollution could lead to an unprecedented health epidemic from water-borne diseases.” says Steytler.
