Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
With dam levels in the province reducing and many municipalities implementing water restrictions:
- What is the total volume of water lost in all municipalities in the province as the result of broken or leaking taps, (b)(i) which are the three municipalities most affected by water losses from broken or leaking taps and (ii) what are the respective volumes lost in each municipality, (c) what is the total financial cost of water lost due to this problem and (d) what interventions is his Department implementing to address and reduce water losses from broken or leaking taps?
The below responses were provided by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
16(a) The total volume of water lost in all municipalities in the Province because of broken or leaking taps is not separately quantified in publicly available records. Water losses from leaking taps form part of physical losses within the broader category of non-revenue water, which includes water lost through leaking pipes, faulty infrastructure, and other system failures. These losses are reported in aggregate and are not disaggregated to isolate losses specifically from broken or leaking taps.
(b) Available reporting usually focuses on overall water losses (non-revenue water, NRW) rather than losses caused by specific issues such as broken or leaking taps While infrastructure-related losses are widely recognized, there is no verified municipal ranking or quantified breakdown specific to broken or leaking taps.
Based on the latest data provided by municipalities using the International Water Association (IWA) Water Balance, the following Water Services Authorities (WSA) report the highest Non-Revenue Water (NRW):
Municipality | Non-Revenue Water (%) |
Beaufort West | 76.3% |
Theewaterskloof | 49.2% |
Matzikama | 47.9% |
(c) At a broader level, national data indicates that municipalities lose billions of rands annually due to water losses linked to leaks, ageing infrastructure, and inefficiencies, rather than isolating leaking taps as a standalone category.
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 Water Services Authorities (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.
