Troubled waters: Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke has warned that several factors, including poor governance and infrastructure decay, have compounded the problem of delivering
clean drinking water. Photo: Ntswe Mokoena/GCIS
Environmental scarcity, infrastructure decay, poor governance and weak accountability across the government’s water value chain are undermining its ability to deliver safe, reliable water, according to the Auditor General of South Africa.
Its 2025 Source to Supply: A Shared Responsibility for a Water-Resilient Future special audit report, tabled in parliament last week, paints a picture of worsening institutional weaknesses reflecting a deepening water crisis.
An audit of 57 major water infrastructure projects valued at R24.35 billion found that 82% had material findings, with average delays of 32 months.
Four projects managed by the Water Trading Entity (WTE) and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) alone accounted for 72% of the total project value, yet dam-related projects were delayed by more than five years on average.
Among the most severe delays were two water treatment works projects at Amatola Water and Magalies Water, both running more than seven years behind schedule and a bulk water supply project at Vaal Central Water delayed by over six years.
At Amatola Water, the upgraded Binfield water treatment works was not fully utilised after completion, pointing to deficiencies in planning and alignment with actual water service needs.
“We raised multiple findings on the infrastructure projects of water service authorities,” the report noted. Five of the seven reservoir projects audited had findings, with three delayed by an average of 24 months, and two affected by both commissioning and cost failures.
“The lived experiences of our people reflect that not even the most basic of human needs — reliable access to safe drinking water — is being met,” Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke said.
While the National Development Plan envisages universal access to affordable, safe water by 2030, she warned that the target is unlikely to be met without urgent intervention.
Public frustration grows in many parts of South Africa, particularly in rural areas and informal settlements.
“Households and industries face frequent interruptions in their water supply, while precious water is being lost due to ageing infrastructure and poor management,” Maluleke said. “The use of water tankering services, intended as a short-term measure, is becoming the norm in parts of the country.”
During site visits to villages in Giyani, Mopani district, auditors found some residents had been without water for about four weeks, forcing households to buy water from private suppliers or travel long distances — sometimes paying donkey carts — to meet basic needs.
Planning failures leave services in disarray
The 2023–24 audits covered the department of water and sanitation (DWS), TCTA, WTE, seven water boards and 135 municipalities acting as water service authorities (WSAs). Findings draw on the department’s No Drop, Blue Drop and Green Drop assessments, providing a comprehensive view of operational, financial and environmental performance.
More than one-third of WSAs (35%), particularly in the Free State and Northern Cape, either lack water service development plans, have not updated them in the past five years, or could not provide evidence of their existence. Even where plans exist, reporting is weak: six of 63 municipalities with plans failed to report on implementation in 2021–22 and 2022–23.
The report singles out Drakenstein local municipality in the Western Cape, whose updated 2023 plan is underpinned by infrastructure condition assessments, expert input, proactive maintenance and real-time monitoring systems. These measures contributed to zero reported backlogs and water losses of 23.4%, below the national norm.
By contrast, Sol Plaatje local municipality in the Northern Cape had no water service development plan or associated maintenance and environmental management plans. Consequences included unassessed backlogs, water losses of 66%, reliance on costly tankering (R1.66 million) and the discharge of untreated wastewater, harming both the environment and public health.
While a material irregularity issued in 2023 prompted remedial steps, the absence of a functional plan was identified as a central cause of failure.
The report warns that when WSAs fail to plan or update plans, national and provincial authorities cannot exercise effective oversight of water delivery.
Infrastructure delays, flagship failures
Delays were recorded across all categories of infrastructure. Of 15 bulk water supply projects audited, 12 had findings, with average delays of 40 months.
Seven of eight water treatment works projects and six of seven pipeline projects were similarly affected, alongside five of six pump station projects. Reservoir projects fared no better, with five of seven delayed by an average of two years.
Delays affect the functioning of the entire water value chain, slowing universal access. Poor-quality construction can harm the public and lead to higher costs for repairs, reducing funds available for new infrastructure and maintenance.
In several cases, completed infrastructure was under-utilised. At Merafong City’s Khutsong reservoir, incorrect pipe connections left the facility unusable after completion, following delays of 26 months and an overspend of R5.2 million.
The human cost is starkly illustrated by the Mzimvubu water project in the Eastern Cape. Intended to supply basic water services to more than 102 000 households across OR Tambo, Alfred Nzo and Joe Gqabi districts, the R5.69 billion project was meant to be completed in 2021.
By May 2024, only an access road was under construction. Dam construction had not begun due to unfinished designs, licensing delays and payment disputes between the DWS and consultants. Although a licence was issued in November 2024, the four-year delay has prolonged water insecurity for surrounding communities.
At Clanwilliam Dam, inadequate planning and ineffective procurement pushed the completion date from 2018 to 2028. By mid-2024, the project was just 16% complete, while poor maintenance of the dam wall raised safety concerns triggering a material irregularity for likely public harm.
Across projects, auditors identified poor workmanship — damaged brickwork, misaligned concrete, leaking valves, exposed steel and tampered electrical installations — defects that should have been detected by appointed consultants.
Since 2019, AGSA has issued 17 infrastructure-related material irregularities linked to irregular payments, standing-time costs, late contractor payments and failure to safeguard assets.
Neglected maintenance and mounting losses
Maintenance failures run throughout the water value chain. In 2023–24, the WTE and two water boards spent less than the national treasury’s recommended 8% of asset value on repairs and maintenance. The DWS and WTE reported that only 39% of planned maintenance of strategic water infrastructure — including canals, pump stations and dams — had been completed.
At municipal level, 96% of WSAs spent below the recommended threshold, averaging just 3%. Environmental inspections at 23 wastewater treatment works across 13 WSAs found none, except Joe Morolong local municipality, complied with legal requirements for safeguarding or maintaining wastewater treatment works. With the exception of Amathole district municipality (Eastern Cape), none of the selected WSAs complied with the environmental legislation tested.
Inadequate maintenance results in water supply disruptions, poor-quality drinking water, unsafe effluent and high water losses.
Since 2019, AGSA has issued 56 material irregularities for pollution caused by failing wastewater treatment works.
By January 2025, 70% remained unresolved, with 95% referred to the DWS for enforcement.
Water losses disclosed by WSAs in 2023–24 totalled R14.89 billion, with 56% exceeding the 30% loss norm. Municipalities spent R2.32 billion on water tankering, nearly R420 million irregularly.
In Mogalakwena, R11.36 million was paid for tankering services never delivered — corrected only after AGSA intervention.
The report concludes that without urgent improvements in planning, maintenance, skills and accountability, delays and failures at each level of the water value chain will continue to compound — worsening water insecurity, increasing costs and placing communities, the environment and public health at growing risk.