While some municipalities will be going large on festive-season installations this year, others will be in darkness thanks to load-shedding and lack of funds.
The Department of Water and Sanitation says it will work with the Municipal Infrastructure Agency and National Treasury to address the key findings in the worst-performing municipalities.
While the quality of major metropolitan municipalities' drinking water is generally good, about 46% of water in the country is poor or not microbiologically safe to drink.