The City of Cape Town has an Open Data Policy whereby these inland
water quality sample result datasets are made available on their
website:
Frequently Asked Questions about the Inland Water Quality Programme
Inland Water Quality dashboards where you can interactively view results for single sites and variables.
The independently-written computer program that generates the above maps processes the tables of results so that you can compare multiple variables in a single graph.
The colour-coding arbitrarily groups water into three vaguely-named classes, allowing you to quickly home into areas of interest. Click on a site to see a box with short summary of the status, then click in the box to see the individual sample results plotted against time.
The vague naming of the classes is deliberate, because you need information other than water quality, for example catchment status and pollution sources, for a meaningful assessment. Sources include documents such as City of Cape Town Inland Water Quality Monthly Summary Reports.
In short, a river or lake is constantly changing, and sample results tell you about the state of the water at distinct moments in the past, and do not necessarily explain what the water is like today, and certainly not what it will be like tomorrow.
The City of Cape Town does not warrant or guarantee the quality or accuracy of the data accessed, extracted or used from their site.
- Escherichia coli (E.coli) as raw data and in a report sent to the Water and Sanitation Portfolio Committee - e.g. the December 2023 E. coli report).
- Chlorophyll a, Microcystin toxins, Ammonia, Unionised Ammonia, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Sum of Nitrate and Nitrite, Ortho-phosphate, Oxygen Saturation, pH, Suspended Solids and Temperature data.
- The inland water quality sample point positions.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Inland Water Quality Programme
Inland Water Quality dashboards where you can interactively view results for single sites and variables.
The independently-written computer program that generates the above maps processes the tables of results so that you can compare multiple variables in a single graph.
The colour-coding arbitrarily groups water into three vaguely-named classes, allowing you to quickly home into areas of interest. Click on a site to see a box with short summary of the status, then click in the box to see the individual sample results plotted against time.
The vague naming of the classes is deliberate, because you need information other than water quality, for example catchment status and pollution sources, for a meaningful assessment. Sources include documents such as City of Cape Town Inland Water Quality Monthly Summary Reports.
In short, a river or lake is constantly changing, and sample results tell you about the state of the water at distinct moments in the past, and do not necessarily explain what the water is like today, and certainly not what it will be like tomorrow.
The City of Cape Town does not warrant or guarantee the quality or accuracy of the data accessed, extracted or used from their site.