Billions for water, but SA’s taps, pipes and sewers keep failing

South Africa faces a severe water crisis, with damaged infrastructure leading to raw sewage spills and government planning to hold municipal managers accountable.

Water and sanitation issues continue to grab headlines in South Africa, with damaged pipelines spilling raw sewage and clean drinking water onto the streets and rivers.

The crisis is so severe that the South African government plans to impose personal criminal liability on municipal managers for the country's escalating water crisis. An amendment to the National Water Act will enable officials to be held personally accountable for service failures and pollution.

Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo said more than R156 billion in grants and subsidies had been set aside over the next three years to support water and sanitation access at the local level.

The Department of Water and Sanitation had imposed restrictions on the uMngeni uThukela Water Supply System to reduce water extraction from the rivers. It had completed its Annual Operating Analysis (AOA) for the uMngeni, North Coast and South Coast water supply systems in KwaZulu-Natal, and said all three systems faced increasing pressure from rising water demand, climate variability, water losses and ageing infrastructure. However, it halted the restrictions at several KZN municipalities on Wednesday.

"Following the analysis and consultations with stakeholders at the stakeholders operating forum, measures have been agreed to safeguard water supply for the 2026/2027 operating year."

The department said the uMgeni Water Supply System began the operating year at a storage level of 99.5%, which is effectively full.

Haniff Hoosen, the DA's eThekwini Mayoral Candidate, said the eThekwini Municipality is losing vast amounts of water, with losses now exceeding 65% and approximately 13,000 water leaks across the city.

Hoosen said the DA had asked the second Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Dr Jack Bloom, to conduct an oversight visit in eThekwini and establish what the matter with the city’s water infrastructure was. Bloom is expected to compile a full report after his oversight is completed.

At an Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, the municipality said it had resolved a plumbers' crisis and had 106 plumbers on the ground.