The Presidency has unveiled a five-point plan to fix the country’s failing water systems, as new figures show nearly half of all pumped municipal water is lost before it reaches consumers.

Released on Tuesday (4 August), the National Water Action Plan sets out five areas of intervention aimed at stabilising failing water systems, recovering critical services and expanding access across the country.

Water crisis

South Africa’s water crisis has reached a breaking point, the document states, with too many municipalities, communities and businesses no longer able to rely on safe and reliable water services.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the creation of a National Water Crisis Committee, which he will chair, during his 2026 State of the Nation Address.

“There is no silver bullet to address this challenge,” he said. “The real challenge lies not in the availability of water, but in getting water to people’s taps. Water outages are a symptom of a local-government system that is not working. A far-reaching overhaul is now underway.”

Widespread failures across municipalities

Evidence gathered through reinstated assessment reports shows a worsening situation across the country’s 144 municipalities authorised to provide water services:

• 74% of water services authorities scored poorly in drinking water or wastewater assessments. A water services authority is the municipality responsible for ensuring that water services are provided in its area.
• 46% of water supply systems recorded poor or bad microbiological water quality compliance in 2023, meaning the water was not safe to drink. This was just 5% in 2014.
• 81% of municipal wastewater infrastructure was in a poor or critical condition, causing widespread pollution and sewage spillages in communities.
• Non-revenue water — water lost through leaks, theft or faulty meters before it reaches consumers or earns any money — averages 47% across all water services authorities. The accepted benchmark is 25%. This means almost half of all pumped water is lost or unaccounted for.
• By February 2026, 38 of the worst-performing water services authorities had not yet produced corrective action plans in response to assessment findings.

The Department of Water and Sanitation has identified 2 688 unserved communities across South Africa, where no formal drinking water infrastructure exists, where existing infrastructure is broken or where residents lack access to the most basic level of service.

A system that is not working

South Africa is unusual compared with other countries in having 144 municipalities that act as both the water services authority — the body responsible for ensuring services are provided — and the water service provider, the entity that actually delivers the services.

The Constitution says municipalities must ensure services are provided, but they do not have to provide them themselves. They can contract this work out to public or private operators with the necessary skills.

Legislation currently before Parliament, the Water Services Amendment Bill, will require water service providers to be separately licensed based on technical criteria. Until the bill becomes law municipalities can begin appointing alternative expert providers who would apply for a licence later.

Two critical flaws have been identified in the current model. Firstly, water sales revenue is not ring-fenced, meaning money from water is often used to fund other municipal functions instead of maintaining water infrastructure and hiring skilled staff. Secondly, accountability is spread thinly, with water departments responsible for technical functions but having little control over billing, revenue collection and asset protection.

Johannesburg in focus

The plan highlights Johannesburg as a city in particular trouble. Joburg Water’s performance has declined sharply over the past decade. Water mains bursts have risen by 30%, and 46,1% of the city’s water is lost as non-revenue water before it reaches consumers.

Sanitation services have also worsened, with a 35% increase in sewer overflows and a 19% drop in wastewater-treatment performance. The decline is attributed to Joburg Water being managed as a city department rather than an independent body with control over its own finances.

Specific actions planned for Johannesburg include:

• Fully ring-fencing water revenue so it goes directly back into fixing pipes and infrastructure
• Increasing Joburg Water’s capital budget to at least R5 billion per year
• Reducing non-revenue water from 46,1% to 28,8% by June 2030
• Replacing 85 km of pipes by June 2026, with a further 140 km per year after that
• Rehabilitating five leaking reservoirs by the end of 2026
• Building additional storage capacity of 574 megalitres worth R3,2 billion by 2030
• Improving response times for pipe bursts and blockages from 48 hours to 24 hours

Five focus areas of the plan

The National Water Action Plan sets out five areas of intervention, each with dedicated teams and clear priorities. Some actions are expected to yield results within months, while others are longer-term reforms.

• Addressing municipal water challenges. National government is already intervening where municipalities are failing. Where services have broken down entirely, formal intervention will be considered under section 139 of the constitution and section 63 of the Water Services Act. Where there is capacity to recover, targeted technical support including engineering, financial management or capacity building will be provided. The Department of Water and Sanitation is also running a programme to develop community-based boreholes and protected springs in rural areas with no water access.
• Speeding up systemic reforms. The Water Services Act is being amended to separate water service authorities from water service providers and to introduce a licensing system for providers. All metropolitan municipalities must ring-fence water revenue so it is spent only on water services. Other water services authorities must follow. Reducing debt to water boards — which are at risk of collapsing due to unpaid municipal bills — is also a priority. A National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency is being established to consolidate national water infrastructure into a single body. A revised raw water pricing strategy is being implemented, and plans are under way to create an independent water regulator to oversee the sector.
• Attracting infrastructure investment. Private sector funding is being mobilised through partnerships, blended finance — a mix of different financial instruments — and performance-based contracts. Major national water infrastructure projects worth R130 billion have been unblocked and are being implemented, largely through private sector financing. At least three new projects will be brought to market before the end of the year. The National Treasury is establishing an Infrastructure Finance and Implementation Support Agency to help structure projects for greater private sector participation.
• Improving legal and regulatory tools. The national government’s ability to intervene where municipalities are failing is currently constrained by court rulings and existing laws. This focus area works to better use existing legal frameworks and, where necessary, propose amendments so the state can act more decisively to protect citizens’ right to water. Relevant court rulings and legislation governing national intervention in failing municipalities are being reviewed.
• Tackling corruption and criminality. The declining reliability of municipal water services has increased dependence on water tankers, creating opportunities for criminal syndicates known as water tanker mafias to exploit procurement processes by sabotaging water infrastructure to secure lucrative tanker contracts. Theft and vandalism of water infrastructure, including the theft of metal components sold as scrap, also continue to disrupt services. These efforts will be coordinated through the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, known as Natjoints, which brings together government, law enforcement and intelligence bodies.

What has been done so far

Several steps have already been taken. The backlog in water use licence applications has been cleared, and processing times have improved markedly. The Blue Drop and Green Drop reports — assessments of drinking water quality and wastewater treatment quality respectively — have been reinstated, with the latest Green Drop providing 2025 data and the latest Blue Drop covering 2023.

National Treasury is leading a reform programme for metropolitan trading services that gives metros financial incentives to ring-fence water revenue. The Water Partnerships Office is running a national programme to help municipalities reduce water losses and improve revenue collection through private sector participation.

The target for non-revenue water is to bring it down from 47% to 39,5% by 2031.

Cooperation is key

The plan states that resolving the water crisis will require strong commitment and cooperation between political and administrative leaders across all spheres of government. The National Water Crisis Committee, known as WATERCOM, will coordinate the many stakeholders involved, track progress in real time and maintain a sense of urgency.

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