While it is positive that the Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop reports are again being published after a gap of several years, the reports themselves point to a worrying decline in the status of the country’s water supply. The drop in drinking water quality is particularly worrying, as is confirmation of a dangerous collapse of the country’s wastewater treatment works and a sharp rise in the number of local authorities that are failing to meet minimum compliance standards. Unless arrested, this decay will have deathly consequences as we witnessed recently with the cholera outbreak.