The national Department of Water and Environmental Affairs' 2012 Blue Drop Certification Programme has ranked Mpumalanga as the province with the worst water quality management, recording a score of 60,9%. It may be even worse when the 2013 report is released in May after at least a dozen raw sewage spills were reported between October 2012 and January 2014. In the 2012 report, roughly 1,7 million people living in five local municipalities are warned to sterilise their tap water before using it. This includes residents of Mkhondo local municipality in Piet Retief which was ranked 151 out of 153 municipalities nationwide for its score of 11,3%. To check the quality of water of in your area, type the name of your town/suburb here: http://www.dwaf.gov.za/dir_ws/DWQR/ The provincial Department of Health and Social Development's Annual Performance Plan for 2013/2014, notes even though 85% of households have access to piped water, outbreaks of water-born diseases continue to occur. Diarrhoea is also the second leading cause of deaths in children under five. (Acute respiratory infections is the leading cause of deaths in this age group).