What the new report shows
The 2025 No Drop Progress Report, released in late March, found that South Africa’s national non-revenue water rate stands at 47.3%. Non-revenue water includes water lost through pipe leaks, illegal connections, and unbilled consumption. The international benchmark for a well-managed system is 30% or below.
The share of municipal water systems rated critical has risen from 39% three years ago to 47% today. Only 8% of systems are rated good or excellent, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation’s own assessment.
Why it matters
Water is not a discretionary service. South Africa’s Constitution guarantees access to sufficient water as a basic right. When municipalities lose nearly half of their treated water, they fail to deliver that right to millions of people — while simultaneously claiming they lack the funds to fix their systems. The SAHRC notes that the revenue lost through non-payment and leakage is itself a primary driver of the funding gap.
The Human Rights Commission’s findings
The SAHRC issued a formal media statement in early April warning that “the continued deterioration of wastewater systems and the lack of quality drinking water is a disaster.” The Commission called on Cabinet to formally declare a national disaster, which would unlock emergency procurement and resource allocation mechanisms.
The SAHRC specifically identified a pattern in which municipalities divert funds away from water and sanitation budgets toward other expenditure, then cite insufficient funding as the reason for failing infrastructure.
The scale of the funding gap
The Department of Water and Sanitation estimated in February 2026 that R400 billion is required to address the maintenance backlog in the worst-performing municipalities. The department is seeking to establish a National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency by Act of Parliament to consolidate oversight and improve revenue collection. That legislation has not yet been passed.
The DA released a separate analysis in February showing that R5 billion in municipal water funds had been wasted in Gauteng alone, and called for mandatory ring-fencing of water revenue to prevent diversion. The Democratic Alliance has cited this as a systemic governance failure rather than a resource problem.
What the government says
Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina highlighted infrastructure handovers during National Water Month in March, including projects in Limpopo, the Free State, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape. The government’s Operation Vulindlela water sector programme identifies water system reform as a priority under the Government of National Unity’s structural reform agenda. No timeline for achieving the R400 billion in repairs has been published.