Taking matters into their own hands
Widespread water and sanitation failures prompt citizen groups to approach the courts
Steve Kretzmann
November 7, 2022
Investigative Series
A collection of reports investigating South Africa’s waste water crisis
This investigation was produced in collaboration with Steve Kretzmann, the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism and OpenUp, with the support of the Open Society Foundation.
Metaverse Exhibit
Built in the Metaverse platform, Spatial, this virtual experience provides an alternate way to engage with the Rivers of Sewage investigation. The exhibit includes story excerpts, photographs, data visualizations from the investigation and links to other aspects of the reporting and partners.
Produced by the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ)
Read the reports
‘The water is not good at all’
How Emalahleni’s contaminated water harms its most vulnerable residents
Steve Kretzmann and Chris Gilili
October 3, 2022
Communities turned into sewage swamps
South Africa’s waste water crisis is making life unbearable for its residents
Steve Kretzmann
September 12, 2022
Living in a ‘critical state’
The price of a South African town’s dirty water
Steve Kretzmann
August 16, 2022
‘A tsunami of human waste’
Half of South Africa’s sewage treatment works are failing
Steve Kretzmann
July 24, 2022
Child diarrhea cases surge as sewage runs on Cape Town streets
Like clockwork, diarrhea among children spikes sharply during Cape Town’s long summer. The city tends to blame the heat and people’s poor hygiene practices, but its own sewage infrastructure may be the real culprit.
Steve Kretzmann
June 1, 2022