Maepa, Magomarele Jackson2026-09-232026https://iiespace.iie.ac.za/handle/123456789/1040One of the most significant factors influencing human health is the quality of drinking water. Many countries, particularly developing countries, have poor drinking water quality. This has led to a number of waterborne illness outbreaks in these countries. The availability of clean drinking water is a universal human right, but the quality of water varies from community to community. Community members are the main beneficiaries when the water quality is good, but they are also the first to suffer from the effects of declining and poor water quality. It has been suggested that a community's attitudes and levels of knowledge regarding water quality influences their judgments of the health implications of using it for drinking. This study explored community perceptions of health implications of water quality in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, Mpumalanga Province (South Africa). A qualitative research design was employed with a purposive sampling method. Fifteen (15) participants (seven males and eight females) were identified to take part in the study from the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, between March and April 2025. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed using Word dictate. The data was then analyzed using coding and thematic data analysis. The findings of the present study present six themes which are: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of the community on health and quality of the water, perceptions of the community regarding water quality and its impact on health, community members experiences of waterrelated health issues, factors affecting the community’s perception of water quality risks, recommendations to enhance health education and water quality and infrastructure for water quality development in response to population growth and urbanization. The findings of the study indicate that the poor quality of drinking water for community members in Steve Tshwete Local Municipality is due to poor waste disposal, poor maintenance of water systems, continuous pipe bursts, increased population growth, illegal connections to the reticulation pipeline and the vandalism of infrastructure. The research recommends that the local municipality of Steve Tshwete could improve service delivery to the community by investing in water infrastructure and maintenance of water plant process to ensure sustainable water management practices. Policymakers and stakeholders should collaborate to increase educational knowledge and awareness about the drinking water quality. The researcher recommendations focus on the policy, practice and further research of the study findings.enCommunity perceptionWater qualityEnvironmental healthHealthMiningThesis