Geraldine Norton’s grandchildren do not always bathe before going to school.

Instead, they wipe themselves with a cloth and wait for water to return.

“The children cannot always bathe before going to school,” says the Limpopo grandmother, who has been registered on Musina Local Municipality’s indigent support programme more than two decades ago.

“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.”

The Musina resident says unreliable water supply has made it difficult for her family to maintain basic hygiene despite qualifying for free basic municipal services.

“There are also times when we cannot flush the toilet because there is not enough water,” she says. 

“When the toilet cannot be flushed, the smell spreads throughout the house. It is not a healthy environment for anyone to live in.”

‘We pay for water despite qualifying for free services’

Norton says her family often has to buy water because 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 says 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 says, 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.”

Free basic services for indigent households on paper alone

Musina Local Municipality says it spends more than R6.4 million a year providing free basic services to 3,842 indigent households.

Under the municipality’s indigent support programme, qualifying households receive free basic water, electricity and other municipal services. 

The municipality’s indigent policy states that the programme is intended to ensure households affected by unemployment and poverty have access to at least basic municipal services.

In May this year, the municipality again called on qualifying households earning below the income threshold to register for the 2026/27 indigent support programme.

But Norton says the support means little when there is no reliable water supply.

A wider water crisis

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 another report from neighbouring villages in the Vhembe district in Limpopo, residents told Health-e News that 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, says 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,” says Mabena.

Municipality yet to respond

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.