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Nearly half of Joburg’s water goes unbilled as ageing system strains residents

Published

2 hours ago

May 12, 2026

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Overview

Johannesburg Water says almost half of the potable water it supplies is not billed, revealing severe losses, ageing infrastructure and mounting financial pressure that are linked to frequent outages and service disruptions for residents.

Scale of the losses

In its published business plan, Johannesburg Water reported that non-revenue water rose from 29.4% in 2007 to 44.8% in 2025. The utility broke down the 44.8% figure into three main components:

Physical losses (leaks and bursts): 24.8%
Unbilled authorised consumption (faulty metering): 11.7%
Commercial losses: 9.7%

The organisation estimates the replacement cost of all its infrastructure at R127 billion, and says its renewal backlog totals R26.4 billion equal to about 20% of pipes, sewers and treatment plants being due for replacement. Its proposed capital expenditure for 2026/27 is R1.96 billion.

Operational pressures and service impacts

Joburg Water cites long-term under-investment and weakening financial performance as drivers of a “compromised position” for the city’s water and sanitation services. The utility highlighted performance declines and system vulnerabilities, including:

An 8.97% increase in the frequency of water mains bursts (from 301 to 328 per 100km per year between 2012 and 2025).
A 28% reduction in distribution system storage capacity (from 39 to 28 hours of average consumption between 2012 and 2022), well below a 48-hour benchmark.
A 20.89% increase in sewer overflows (from 384 to 464.21 per 100km per year between 2012 and 2025).
A 19% decline in wastewater treatment performance (from 86 to 70 between 2013 and 2022, per Green Drop audits).

The report says reduced storage makes the system more vulnerable to interruptions in bulk supply and electricity, and directly contributes to more frequent and longer water supply interruptions for residents and businesses.

Official responses and plans

Johannesburg Water describes the situation bluntly in its documents:

“the city’s ‘water and sanitation service in [sic] is experiencing serious challenges and is not sustainable'”

As part of its stated moves to address the crisis, the utility is pursuing a turnaround plan that includes strategic shifts to improve implementation capacity. The plan sets a target to reduce non-revenue water to 30% by 2028. The utility also said it is:

Converting so-called “deemed customers” flat-rate accounts in areas such as Soweto, Orange Farm and Alexandra to metered areas, noting there are about 99,000 customers currently billed at flat rates despite investigations suggesting much higher actual consumption.
Publishing daily updates on the status of towers and reservoirs across regions to keep the public informed.
Resorting to throttling of water at reservoirs or towers, either during the day or overnight, to manage supply deficits.

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has also emphasised municipal reforms and capacity building as priorities for improving local services, calling for simpler municipal structures and greater focus on upskilling municipal managers and councillors.

How residents are affected

Residents face repeated outages and poorer service reliability as a result of the combination of high non-revenue water, increased bursts, lower storage and constrained treatment capacity. The utility links limited storage and rising mains bursts directly to more frequent and longer interruptions in supply.

What consumers can do

Based on information the utility publishes, consumers should monitor official system status updates. Johannesburg Water now publishes daily status updates for its regional systems, which detail the condition of towers and reservoirs. Those updates are the primary published source of real-time information from the utility about supply status and planned throttling.

What remains to be done

Joburg Water says chronic under-investment has produced a large renewal backlog and that current capital spending is lower than 15 years ago. The entity argues this backlog constrains development in some areas and contributes to ongoing service decline. Its published figures and targets frame the scale of the challenge facing both the utility and residents reliant on a stable water supply.