In the years after 1994, South Africa’s new government launched a national campaign to bring clean water to millions. Archival data drawn by The Common Sense shows that, within ten years, the percentage of households with piped water inside their homes rose from just above 50% to almost 90%.

When Nelson Mandela took office in 1994, South Africa faced a crisis with regards to basic infrastructure. Perhaps nowhere was this more acute than in access to clean, potable water. Just over half of households had water inside the home; for the rest, daily life meant long walks to communal taps, rivers, or distant wells.

The pace of change in those years was striking. By 2004, nearly nine-out-of-ten households, urban and rural alike, could turn on a tap at home. This transformation was visible in almost every province, from the dusty streets of Limpopo villages to the informal settlements sprawling around Johannesburg and Cape Town. For many families, especially women and girls who had historically carried the burden of water collection, the change meant reclaimed time for education, work, and community life.

The impact on health was equally dramatic. Clinics reported a significant drop in waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea. Children who had lost days to illness or water-fetching began to show up regularly at school. New water schemes were rolled out through combined action between national and local government.

Beyond the numbers, water delivery became a symbol of a new social contract and helped to embed a sense that democracy would translate into tangible improvements in daily life.

Today, South Africa risks forgetting just how quickly conditions changed after 1994, and how deeply that initial momentum was felt. The country’s early experience stands not only as a source of pride but as a blueprint we can refer back to. If government, business, and community again work together with focus and ambition, the pace of progress witnessed in the first decade can be replicated, and extended to a new generation.