Brief
eThekwini and Johannesburg face highest rates of prolonged water outages in South Africa
Old pipes and high leak rates push eThekwini and Johannesburg to the top of a national list of long water outages.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Bizcommunity reports that in 2025 more than a third of South African households endured water outages lasting two days or longer, with the worst‑hit metros being eThekwini (44%) and Johannesburg (40%).
What happened
The General Household Survey showed 76% of households had a tap inside the home, yet 38% suffered prolonged outages. Among the eight metros, Cape Town reported the lowest long‑outage rate at 8%.
What the reports add
Bizcommunity attributes the outages primarily to ageing, poorly maintained pipes that leak or burst, causing 61% of eThekwini’s water to be lost to leaks and illegal connections. National Treasury’s review found metros collectively lost nearly R8.7 billion worth of water in the 2023/24 fiscal year, while the national non‑revenue water share rose to 47% in 2023, above the 30% international average.
Key facts
- 44% of eThekwini households reported outages of two days or more in 2025 (bizcommunity.com)
- 40% of Johannesburg households reported similar long outages (bizcommunity.com)
- 61% of eThekwini’s water is lost to leaks and illegal connections (bizcommunity.com)
- Metros lost nearly R8.7 billion worth of water in 2023/24 (bizcommunity.com)
Sources
- [1] bizcommunity.com — originally reported as “Durban and Joburg worst hit by water outages”
