The WSA mandates the Minister responsible for water and sanitation to prescribe compulsory national norms and standards in accordance with sections 9 and 10 of the WSA. The current norms and standards for water and sanitation have, over the last few decades, inadvertently focused on addressing water services and backlogs in urban areas, unintentionally overlooking the diverse variances and challenges prevalent in the rural areas.
The Minister responsible for water and sanitation has been called upon to develop norms and standards for equitable water services provision to households, which are aligned with the Strategic Framework for Water Services, taking into account availability of water resources, financial challenges, geographical placement issues, servicing of vulnerable groups and addressing the backlog. As a result, the National Norms and Standards for Domestic Water and Sanitation have been published, as set out in this notice, which set out and describe the national norms and standards for levels of water services, including sanitation, which will be applicable from 2017 onwards, until the Minister requests another revision in future.
