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Borehole water quality in Limpopo
Of the Limpopo borehole and spring sites the Department of Water and Sanitation has tested, 39% were over the drinking-water limit for nitrate at their latest test, 11% over the limit for fluoride and 19% salty enough to taste (8,691 sites, 15,016 samples, 1968 to 2025). The problem is patchy: some towns are almost clean, others are not.
Is borehole water safe to drink in Limpopo?
Often, but you can't assume it. Groundwater picks up what is in the rock and what drains into it from above. In Limpopo the two health problems that show up most in the Department's records are nitrate, which mostly comes from pit latrines, septic tanks and livestock near a borehole, and fluoride, which comes from the rock itself. Salt is mainly a taste and appliance problem. None of these can be seen, smelt or reliably tasted at the levels that matter, so the only way to know is a laboratory test.
Which Limpopo towns have the most borehole water problems?
The table covers every test site within 20 km of each town centre, using the latest test at each site. A site counts once, whatever the number of samples taken there.
| Town | Sites tested | Over nitrate limit | Over fluoride limit | Salty (over 170 mS/m) | Median test year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mokopane | 241 | 33% | 10% | 20% | 1982 |
| Bela-Bela | 226 | 62% | 14% | 6% | 1979 |
| Jane Furse | 130 | 45% | 11% | 10% | 1996 |
| Makhado | 119 | 19% | 1% | 13% | 1993 |
| Seshego | 118 | 16% | 10% | 3% | 1996 |
| Thohoyandou | 103 | 26% | 1% | 4% | 1996 |
| Thabazimbi | 95 | 14% | 1% | 7% | 1982 |
| Phalaborwa | 76 | 27% | 4% | 49% | 1997 |
| Polokwane | 70 | 14% | 1% | 6% | 1985 |
| Lebowakgomo | 60 | 22% | 15% | 3% | 1995 |
| Giyani | 54 | 54% | 2% | 30% | 1997 |
| Hoedspruit | 47 | 0% | 22% | 21% | 1991 |
| Modimolle | 46 | 38% | 7% | 2% | 1977 |
| Musina | 37 | 51% | 31% | 38% | 1983 |
| Tzaneen | 32 | 3% | 3% | 0% | 1997 |
| Lephalale | 24 | 0% | 70% | 12% | 1993 |
| Burgersfort | 12 | 42% | 8% | 0% | 1995 |
Three patterns stand out. Nitrate is highest around Bela-Bela (62%), Giyani (54%), Musina (51%) and Jane Furse (45%). Fluoride is the bigger issue around Lephalale (70%), Musina (31%) and Hoedspruit (22%). Around Phalaborwa, nearly half the sites tested (49%) were salty. Tzaneen stands out the other way, with 3% or less over any limit.
Half of all the tests are from 1993 or earlier, and many sites are village supply boreholes and monitoring points rather than private plots. The table shows which areas deserve a test, not what your borehole will give.
What are the drinking-water limits?
South Africa's drinking-water standard, SANS 241, sets the limits the Department's results are measured against:
- Nitrate: 11 mg/l (measured as nitrogen). Above it, water is a risk for babies under six months, whose formula or food is made with it.
- Fluoride: 1.5 mg/l. Above it, years of drinking the water can mottle children's teeth and, at much higher levels, damage bones.
- Electrical conductivity: 170 mS/m. A measure of dissolved salt. Above it, water tastes salty and scales kettles, geysers and pipes.
How do you test borehole water?
Once the borehole is drilled and has been pumped for a while, take a sample in a clean bottle from the laboratory and ask for a SANS 241 drinking-water analysis, which covers nitrate, fluoride, salt, hardness, iron, manganese and bacteria. Test again every year or two, and after any flood or new septic tank or kraal nearby. If you only use the water for the garden and toilets, a test still tells you whether it will stain paving or scale your pipes.
What can you do if the water fails?
Most problems can be treated at the tap or for the whole house. Reverse osmosis removes nitrate, fluoride and salt; ion exchange removes nitrate; filters handle iron and manganese; and a UV unit or chlorination deals with bacteria. The test result decides which you need, so test before you buy anything. Siting the borehole well away from pit latrines, septic tanks and kraals is the cheapest protection of all.
What will the water be like on your plot?
Type your address into the tool on the home page. It shows what the Department found at the test sites nearest your plot, next to the water level, likely depth and price. Town pages: Polokwane, Tzaneen, Thohoyandou and Mokopane.
Questions people ask
Is borehole water safe to drink in Limpopo?
Not always. At their latest test, 39% of the Limpopo sites the Department of Water and Sanitation has tested were over the drinking-water limit for nitrate, 11% over the limit for fluoride and 19% salty. Have your borehole water tested against SANS 241 before drinking it.
What is the nitrate limit for drinking water in South Africa?
SANS 241 sets the limit at 11 mg/l of nitrate measured as nitrogen. Water above it is a risk for babies under six months.
How much fluoride is too much in borehole water?
SANS 241 sets the drinking-water limit at 1.5 mg/l. Around Lephalale, 70% of the sites the Department of Water and Sanitation tested were over it.
Why is my borehole water salty?
Groundwater dissolves salts from the rock it passes through. Water above 170 mS/m electrical conductivity tastes salty. Around Phalaborwa, 49% of tested sites were over that level. Reverse osmosis removes the salt.
Basis for the figures on this page
- Department of Water and Sanitation groundwater chemistry data for Limpopo, supplied on request on 23 September 2026: 15,016 samples from 8,691 sites (14,638 borehole and 378 spring samples), 1968 to 2025. Latest sample per site. Province figures: nitrate over 11 mg/l at 3,324 of 8,476 sites with a nitrate result, fluoride over 1.5 mg/l at 939 of 8,580, conductivity over 170 mS/m at 1,645 of 8,672.
- Town figures: every site within 20 km of the town centre. Towns with fewer than 10 tested sites are left out.
- Limits: SANS 241 drinking water specification.
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