Do you want to know how many new COMMUNAL TAPS and TOILETS you can ask for in your informal settlement or village?
The South African Bill of Rights says that everyone has the right to water and a healthy environment.
For more info on what the constitution says about human rights and how these relate to informal settlements, have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page.
One way government turns these human rights into a reality for people is by developing a set of norms and standards for what the minimum level of services are that government will aim for when it comes to providing water and toilets for everyone. These minimum levels are called “norms and standards”. Each municipality can have its own unique norms and standards. For example, one municipality may aim for 1 toilet per 10 households and 1 tap per 50 households, while another municipality may aim for 1 toilet per 5 households and 1 tap per 25 households. Using these minimum standards you can work out, for your informal settlement or rural village, how many taps and toilets you should be provided with to meet these norms and standards.
Click the icon below to open the Taps and toilets norms and standards calculator Excel spreadsheet.
How to use the calculator
- Choose the municipality you live in by clicking the drop-down arrow**
- Type in how many households live in your community
- Type in how many communal taps and toilets you already have
- The calculator will determine how many more taps and toilets you need.
**Note that this drop-down function does not work with all excel versions. We are trying to fix this problem.
At the moment this taps and toilets calculator does not have information for all municipalities in the country so if you live in a municipality not covered in this calculator you need to speak to your municipality, show them this calculator and ask them to tell you what norms and standards they use.
