SA’s water system is under strain — Why investment and reform matter now

Just as many South Africans began to feel the relief of a steadier power grid, the water service started to buckle. In early 2026, the warning signs were clear.

Midrand residents took to the streets after days of dry taps, Cape Town authorities pleaded for consumption cuts as dam levels dropped, and Nelson Mandela Bay signalled acute water stress as its usable supply slipped below 40%.

In his 2026 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa called water “the single-most important issue for many people in South Africa”. He backed this urgency with the establishment of a National Water Crisis Committee and R156-billion in infrastructure funding over the next three years. This national focus responds to institutional and financial pressures that have built up over the last decade.

The primary constraint is a systematic failure of municipal service delivery that persists despite ongoing investment in bulk infrastructure. The latest Blue, Green, and No Drop reports show a sharp decline in performance by municipalities that are failing to meet their service provision obligations as the authorities responsible for water service delivery. As of late 2025, 53 of the most critical water services authorities had not produced the mandated corrective action plans required to address these failures.

This structural decline continues even with R60-billion in annual national grants. Consequently, a new licensing regime for water service providers is being introduced to enforce accountability. Beyond this, reforms in Operation Vulindlela aim to establish an independent economic regulator, ending the current arrangement where the Department of Water and Sanitation acts as both referee and player.

Financial pressures further complicate the crisis. Annual grants represent only a portion of the R91-billion annual funding gap. While ring-fenced water utilities could improve revenue collection, constitutional limits prevent the national government from permanently assuming municipal functions.

Heeding water services warning signs

Recent analysis has quantified what is required to keep South Africa’s water services functioning to 2050. Meeting current service objectives requires an investment of approximately R7.16-trillion—an average of R256-billion every year. This figure represents the cost of operating, maintaining and renewing a system that is already under significant strain.

The bulk of future spending is driven by the cumulative cost of keeping existing systems functional as they age. Without active management, operating costs rise and systemic flexibility disappears. South Africa now faces a gradual loss of room to manoeuvre. The choices made today determine whether “water-shedding” becomes a permanent feature of national life.

Steps to address water crisis

To avoid a future of chronic unplanned outages, South Africa must prioritise routine maintenance and address the structural conditions that make reforms harder and more costly the longer they are deferred.

First, the country must reduce water losses, which currently stand at 47% nationally. Fixing leaks and managing demand are the most cost-effective ways to secure the water system. Addressed early, these measures reduce long-term investment needs; if addressed late, after systems have deteriorated, they cannot reverse the shift towards more expensive supply options.

Second, we must stabilise existing operations before adding complexity. Much of the long-term cost arises from the need to renew existing assets. In future, we need to place particular weight on enforceable operating standards, credible regulations and reforms such as water operating licences that link funding to performance. These foundations ensure that additional investment improves reliability rather than simply covering rising operating costs.

Decisions on service levels and technology remain with municipalities as the legal authorities responsible for water delivery. However, the research shows that “interim” fixes, such as water trucking, create unsustainable expenditure paths because of high long-term operating costs.

Sustainable outcomes require solutions suited to local capacity, including shared sanitation in dense informal settlements, improved faecal sludge management or low-water technologies.

The evidence confirms that incremental shifts are insufficient. To meet national and international targets, we must frontload investment and restore basic operational discipline immediately.

Delaying these commitments does not save money but rather amplifies future costs through infrastructure decay.

Success requires repairing the revenue chain, ensuring that grants such as the Equitable Share are spent on water services and establishing credible regulation. Without institutional capacity, even well-designed financial and environmental interventions struggle to deliver lasting gains.

These technical and financial commitments are urgent. They determine whether South Africa preserves the room to adapt or continues drifting towards a future where unplanned outages become the routine. DM