Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
With many municipalities in the province facing water security risks and non-revenue water losses:
- What is the estimated total volume of water lost due to illegal water connections in municipalities in the province in the (i) 2024/25 and (ii) 2025/26 financial years, (b) which three municipalities have recorded the highest number of illegal water connections, (c) how many cases were identified in each municipality, (d) what is the estimated financial cost associated with water losses due to illegal connections for the same period in (a) above and (e) what interventions has his Department provided to municipalities to address illegal water connections?
The below responses were provided by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
15(a) State of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and Water losses in the Western Cape region are currently at 26.9% and 21% respectively. However, there are few Water Services Authorities (WSAs) who still have extremely high levels of Non-Revenue water, and this is due to number of factors which include vandalism of water infrastructure, constant pipe bursts which are attributed to the aging of water infrastructure, as well as human behavior which normally leads to water wastage at homes. The estimated total volume of water lost due to illegal water connections in municipalities within the Western Cape Province for the (i) 2024/25 and (ii) 2025/26 financial years is not separately quantified in publicly available records. Water losses are generally reported under the broader category of non-revenue water (NRW), which includes physical losses (leakages), commercial losses (including illegal connections), and unbilled authorised consumption. Consequently, the specific proportion attributable solely to illegal connections is not disaggregated for the periods in question.
(b) Available reporting usually focuses on overall water losses (non-revenue water, NRW) rather than losses caused by specific issues such as illegal water connections. While infrastructure-related losses are widely recognized, there is no verified municipal ranking or quantified breakdown specific to illegal connections.
Based on the latest data provided by municipalities using the International Water Association (IWA) Water Balance, the following Water Services Authorities (WSAs) report the highest Non-Revenue Water (NRW):
Municipality | Non-Revenue Water (%) |
Beaufort West | 76.3% |
Theewaterskloof | 49.2% |
Matzikama | 47.9% |
(c) As per the response on (a), there is no available data reported on the specific cases on illegal connections in relation to water losses contribution.
(e) The current reporting frameworks do not disaggregate data to quantify volumes, municipal rankings, or financial costs specific to this cause. These losses are instead incorporated within broader non-revenue water figures. The National Department of Water and Sanitation continues to address the issue through infrastructure improvements, leak detection, and water conservation measures. In addition to the above strategies in collaboration with the WSAs, DWS has employed various water conservation and water demand management strategies which include awareness campaigns on water conservation and awareness on anti-vandalism of water infrastructure, water conservation infrastructure projects, and rolling out of Basic Plumbing Skills Training. However, the rollout of these interventions is not always possible due to cost containment measures.
