Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina has revealed that South Africa loses at least R26 billion annually due to water losses.
The country loses nearly half of all its treated water before it reaches citizens. This massive waste of “non-revenue water” is primarily driven by ageing infrastructure, pipe leaks, illegal connections, and poor municipal maintenance.
Majodina revealed the cost of the water losses in a parliamentary reply last week.
Water losses in SA
She was asked by uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) MP Visvin Gopal Reddy how much water is lost and how much it is costing the economy.
“Non-Revenue Water (NRW) is the volume of water supplied by the Water Services Authority for which it receives no income or revenue,” said Majodina in a reply.
“NRW incorporates several components, including water authorised for use by a consumer; however, it is not billed (metered or unmetered), water lost through leaks in municipal distribution systems (physical losses), illegal connections, and revenue foregone as a result of weak municipal billing and revenue collection systems (commercial losses). Therefore, water losses are a component of NRW.”
She added that the current national average NRW was 47.3% as at June 2024, which is equivalent to 2,121,347,794 kl/annum. The average cost of supplying water per kl in South Africa is R 12,41/kl, and the rand value of NRW is approximately R26 billion.
Water-saving measures
Reddy further asked whether the measures implemented to address water losses have been successful, and what those successes are. Majodina, in reply, listed progress made, not successes.
One of the progress points is that the department monitors compliance with the standards through the No Drop Programme. “The requirements of the revised norms and standards are currently being incorporated into the No Drop requirements.”
She added that the implementation of the Trading Services Reform Programme, led by the National Treasury, is underway.
No Drop progress report
“The Water Secure Gauteng (PWSG) brings together government, water boards, business and civil society through regular information-sharing sessions, providing stakeholders with updates on progress and interventions aimed at improving water security in Gauteng and nationally.
“The platform also continues to publish a consolidated Gauteng Water Dashboard, providing the latest information on water demand, consumption, supply and overall system performance.”
“The No Drop Progress Report was launched by the minister on 31 March 2026. Currently, the department is in the process of conducting the full No Drop assessments, and the report is planned to be published in March 2027.”
