Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Jack Bloom said on Tuesday that about 48% of the water put into Gauteng’s system is lost or unaccounted for, against a new national target of below 25% by 2035.
He was speaking in Boksburg at a workshop on the department’s new strategic framework for water and sanitation. Bloom said burst and leaking pipes alone lose an estimated 431 billion litres a year in the province.
“At Rand Water rates, this is about R7 billion a year and at municipal rates, it is probably more than double this figure, so at least R14 billion is revenue lost to municipalities,” Bloom said.
The share of water that earns no revenue differs by metro, according to Bloom. Johannesburg is at about 49%, of which 26 points is physical loss. Tshwane is at 45%, with physical loss at 34 points. Ekurhuleni is at about 30%, with 22 points lost physically. He put Emfuleni at over 70% and Mogale at over 60%.
Bloom said Gauteng needs to roughly halve its losses to reach the national target. Municipalities, he said, cannot wait until the deadline to act.
Source: Deputy Minister Jack Bloom, Boksburg workshop, 27 October 2026, as reported by SAnews. Emfuleni is given as over 70%; 70 is shown. Chart: Rand Desk
The 2026 framework replaces one adopted in 2003 that concentrated on widening basic access. Bloom said the new version treats a tap without reliable, clean water as something short of access. It makes climate risk assessment central to planning, promotes smart meters and digital asset registers, and requires plans for informal settlements and people on private land.
Several other 2035 targets are in the framework, according to SAnews. Four of every five urban households are to have smart meters by 2032. Municipalities must renew a tenth of their high-risk ageing assets each year and replace 30% of pipelines, pumps and treatment units that have reached the end of their life by 2035. Spending on water services is to reach 0.75% of GDP, and compliance with the SANS 241 drinking-water standard is to reach 100%.
Bloom also described governance changes. The framework wants an independent economic regulator for water services in law by 2029, so that regulation sits outside the department. Grants, he said, should fund repair and renewal as well as new projects, because new infrastructure falls into disrepair without maintenance. Water revenue should be ring-fenced and lifecycle costing made compulsory.
“Every leak fixed and every meter read correctly brings water to people who don’t currently have it,” Bloom said.
The department is holding similar workshops across the country to move from policy commitments to delivery of reliable water and sanitation, according to Bloom.
