Stats SA survey lays bare SA’s water supply failures

South Africa’s chronic water infrastructure challenges are reflected in household data, with the latest Statistics South Africa General Household Survey finding that 56.8% of households experienced water interruptions in 2025, and more than a third reported some form of dysfunction in municipal water supply services.

The survey, which tracks living conditions and service delivery, found that 37.6% of households experienced interruptions that lasted at least two days or exceeded 15 days in total in 2025.

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The findings reinforce mounting concerns about deteriorating municipal water infrastructure, ageing networks and uneven service delivery across provinces and metros.

Water interruptions according to Stats SA’s 2025 General Household Survey. Image: Stats SA

Weekly water interruptions were most common in Mpumalanga, where 36% of households reported them, followed by Limpopo (25.9%) and KwaZulu-Natal (24.2%).

Only 43.2% of households nationally reported no interruptions at all over the past 12 months.

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At a provincial level, the strongest performance was recorded in the Western Cape, where 74.8% of households reported uninterrupted supply, followed by the Free State at 47%.

On the other hand, only 28.6% of households in North West province, 29.4% in the Northern Cape, and 30% in Mpumalanga reported uninterrupted water supply.

Metros’ water supply

Stats SA found that prolonged water interruptions were less common in metropolitan municipalities than nationally – 30% compared with 37.6% – although large disparities were observed.

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The City of Cape Town emerged as the standout performer, with only 7.8% of households reporting water interruptions lasting at least two days.

At the other extreme, eThekwini was the worst-performing metro at 43.9%, nearly six times higher than Cape Town’s level.

The strain on water systems is also changing household behaviour. Among households affected by prolonged interruptions, 43.7% relied on stored water, while nearly a third depended on water tankers or purchased water.

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More than 10% reported having no backup water arrangements.

Over the longer term, access to drinking water has improved, though unevenly. Stats SA notes that access to piped water increased by only 1.3 percentage points between 2004 and 2025, although this still translated into an additional 6.7 million households gaining access to safe piped water, according to Stats SA.

At the same time, access deteriorated in some provinces, including Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Percentage (%) distribution of households with access to piped or tap water in their dwellings, off-site or on-site by province, selected years 2002-2025. Image: Stats SA

Housing

Housing data show similarly mixed outcomes. Most households – 84.2% – lived in formal dwellings in 2025, while 12.1% remained in informal housing.

The highest percentage of households that lived in informal dwellings was recorded in North West (19.2%), followed by Gauteng (18.9%) and the Western Cape (17.6%).

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These numbers reflect internal migration towards provinces with stronger economic activity and employment prospects.

Gauteng and the Western Cape continue to attract people seeking work and better access to services, contributing to the growth of informal settlements.

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In North West, the higher percentage of informal dwellings is linked to its mining-driven economy, where mining areas often attract job seekers faster than formal housing and municipal infrastructure can expand.

The General Household Survey is conducted annually and covers private households and residents in workers’ hostels across all nine provinces.

Stats SA also notes that household benchmarking totals, currently based on the 2017 mid-year population estimate model, will be revised in 2027 when a new series incorporating Census 2022 demographic data is implemented.

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