The water crisis in the eThekwini area is far from over, but a sliver of a silver lining has emerged, indicating that intervention strategies are starting to yield results, for now. Photo: Mlungisi Louw/Volksblad/Gallo Images/Getty Images
The water crisis in the eThekwini area is far from over, but a sliver of a silver lining has emerged, indicating that intervention strategies are starting to yield results, for now.
In the latest data release from the department of water and sanitation (DWS) on the city’s water performance, a clear trend is emerging in the reduction of real water losses across the city, although daily disruptions continue, with some areas going for days and weeks without potable water.
The city has previously said that the “root cause” of supply disruptions is demand far exceeding supply, given the rapid population growth, but has also admitted that leaks in eThekwini’s water distribution system remain a problem.
Last week, ratepayers groups from across Durban gathered in the city to protest the crisis, threatening a rates boycott if the metro does not fix its billing system, address mismanagement of funds and expedite infrastructure repair.
The data that provides a sliver of hope for stretched ratepayers is contained in a monthly dashboard released in collaboration with the Platform for a Water Secure eThekwini, a multi-stakeholder forum involving business and civil society, as well as government departments and agencies.
Non-revenue water (NRW) is the catch-all term used by municipalities to describe water losses that either result from non-payment by customers, known as commercial losses, or from leaks, referred to as real losses.
The city’s rolling 12-month average for NRW is 53.1%, meaning that for every litre of water purchased by the city, only 46.9% is paid for by customers.
The figure is alarmingly high, but under pressure from the DWS and civil society, the city managed to reduce its real loss average from nearly 60% in January 2024 to 43.5% in February 2025.
According to eThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana, while a 12-month average is the best way to track improvements, real water losses on a month-to-month basis declined from 41% in January to 38.2% in February.
She said the reduction in water losses is part of an NRW reduction plan.
Sisilana told the Mail & Guardian that the reduction plan “includes various initiatives, such as addressing commercial losses; replacing meters; improving metering accuracy and billing; installing meters at unmetered sites; removing illegal connections; proactive leak detection; pressure management; speed and quality of repairs; improved maintenance and infrastructure replacement”.
One stark admission found in the data presented on the dashboard is that while the July 2021 unrest and the April 2022 and April 2023 floods had some impact on overall non-revenue water losses, it was marginal.
This contradicts claims by city officials, who have repeatedly blamed these events for the current crisis. Just before the Covid-19 lockdowns, NRW was already above 50%.
In October 2024, the city was instructed via a directive from the DWS to reduce the volume of water it abstracted from the Umngeni-uThukela Water Board system by 8.4%.
The city had been exceeding its allocated volume of 470 million m³ per annum by 39 million m³ per annum.
Sisilana said that following the directive from Umngeni-uThukela to reduce daily water use, the city had lowered its average daily water purchases from 1 158 megalitres/day in 2023-24 to 1 128 megalitres/day in 2024-25, reflecting a reduction of 30 megalitres/day.
The DWS has set a target to lower system input volume by 90 megalitres/day.
The municipality has been installing water restrictors on consumer meters in the southern area of the city, where according to Sisilana, demand still exceeds available supply “particularly following the bulk water reduction implemented by Umngeni-uThukela Water in October last year”.
“The restrictors, which will be rolled out to approximately 550 000 connected households, are designed to reduce overall water demand by constricting water flow while the city continues addressing physical water losses,” said Sisilana.
The water and sanitation department is also involved in the collaborative Platform for a Water Secure Gauteng. According to a dashboard released in collaboration with the Gauteng group, non-revenue water losses in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni are at a 10-year average of 48.4%, 33.5% and 30.1%, respectively.
The data can be found at www.dws.gov.za/dashboard.aspx
