The Water Ministry’s latest reports show that non-revenue water lost through the country’s distribution systems is still above 47 percent — meaning nearly half of all water supplied is not reaching consumers.
The Green Drop report, however, records a slight improvement in drinking water systems. The proportion of systems classified as low risk has risen by 1.5 percentage points to nearly 62 percent, while those rated at critical risk have fallen from 9.9 percent to between 7.7 and 7.9 percent.
UCT civil engineering lecturer Dora King unpacked the findings, describing South Africa’s water challenges as vast and complex. “Our water problem is quite vast and it’s difficult to get a handle on,” she said, noting that the current generation must deal with aging infrastructure built 50, 60 or even 100 years ago that can no longer be refurbished and must be replaced.
King emphasised the need to replace this infrastructure while simultaneously planning for a growing population that will draw on the same limited water resources. She highlighted climate-change uncertainties, pointing out that the Eastern Cape and Western Cape are expected to experience more frequent droughts, while the west coast — affecting KwaZulu-Natal — will see more torrential rains that could damage infrastructure.
Non-revenue water losses, she explained, stem not only from leaks caused by aging pipes but also from illegal connections that many local municipalities have been unable to control. “Until we are able to understand the nature of our infrastructure, we’ll be able to make better predictions and get ahead of reducing our non-revenue water,” King said.
She placed the issue in an international context. Some private utilities in South America, where non-revenue water stands at about 35 percent, choose to maintain the current level because it is measurable and instead focus on adding new pipelines to serve additional customers rather than replacing old infrastructure. In Japan, authorities are re-evaluating extensive pipeline networks and considering whether households could treat and reuse their own drinking water.
Closer to home, the City of Cape Town has replaced between 50 kilometres of water pipelines and 100 kilometres of sewer pipelines per year using trenchless technology, demonstrating one practical approach to the problem. King stressed, however, that there is no quick fix and that solutions will differ from one municipality to another.
Responsibility for providing water rests with local municipalities, she said, while national government handles regulation, builds dams and sets quality standards, and water boards such as Rand Water assist with treatment. Water quality has remained quite good, King noted, but the biggest obstacles at municipal level are limited capacity, technical knowledge, preventative maintenance, proper tender processes and long-term planning.
She cited Johannesburg, which 10 to 15 years ago was already replacing considerable lengths of aging infrastructure, as an example of what is possible when planning is consistent. The lack of continuity in local governance and forward-looking maintenance lies squarely with municipalities, she added.
National government has attempted to intervene by embedding skilled personnel in municipalities to build capacity, but the willingness of local authorities to use this support for genuine upskilling has been limited. The previous strategy of national government building infrastructure and handing it back has not worked, King said. A more promising approach, she suggested, would involve water boards working “next to” municipalities to build capacity from within, improve procurement and hiring, and establish standalone entities dedicated solely to water and sanitation services. These entities would collect their own revenue and take full responsibility for operating, maintaining and expanding infrastructure.
King also advocated exploring “fit-for-purpose” water supply. Not every use requires high-quality drinking water; lower-quality water that is still safe for contact could be used for many non-potable purposes, freeing potable supplies for drinking and essential needs. Public resistance remains a major hurdle, she acknowledged, because South Africans — like people elsewhere — are accustomed to using premium drinking water for everything. Trust in institutions to deliver reliable alternative supplies consistently is another barrier, particularly for industrial users such as data centres that require large volumes for cooling.
She pointed out that 74 percent of wastewater treatment facilities are in moderate to high risk, underscoring capacity gaps in both drinking-water and wastewater treatment. Changing perceptions and educating consumers will be essential, King concluded, because the way future generations think about and use water will have to evolve.
