Failing municipal infrastructure driving South Africa’s water crisis – not water scarcity
Award-winning engineering professional Tshidi Mndzebele says engineering-led solutions can rapidly stabilise supply as Infrastructure Africa discussions begin.
South Africa’s escalating water outages are being driven primarily by failing infrastructure rather than water scarcity, according to award-winning engineering professional and CEO of AvenirHoldings, Tshidi Mndzebele.
As infrastructure leaders gather in Cape Town for Infrastructure Africa this week, Mndzebele says the country is facing a critical turning point requiring urgent engineering intervention to prevent further service delivery collapse.
Recent national assessments show that approximately 47% of treated water is lost before reaching consumers, largely due to leaks, ageing pipelines, illegal connections and inadequate maintenance – significantly higher than the global average of around 30%.
“These shortages are not primarily caused by a lack of water,” says Mndzebele.
“South Africa treats substantial volumes of water successfully. The failure occurs within municipal distribution systems where infrastructure has exceeded its engineering lifespan.”
The financial impact is severe. Auditor-General findings indicate municipalities lost R14.89 billion worth of water in one year, highlighting the economic cost of infrastructure deterioration.
Government estimates suggest more than R400 billion is required to rehabilitate municipal water and sanitation infrastructure nationwide, while many water projects face delays of several years due to capacity and planning challenges.
According to Mndzebele, the crisis reflects long-term underinvestment in lifecycle maintenance rather than a sudden system failure. “For decades, maintenance has been reactive instead of proactive. Engineering systems require continuous asset management. Without it, infrastructure inevitably fails.”
Water sector audits further show that a large proportion of wastewater treatment plants are operating below required standards, creating environmental and public health risks while placing additional pressure on already strained systems.
Mndzebele believes immediate stabilisation is achievable through targeted engineering interventions rather than waiting for large new infrastructure projects.
These include:
- pressure management systems,
- advanced leak detection and repair programmes,
- smart monitoring technology, and
- structured infrastructure maintenance planning.
“Before building new dams or pipelines, we must stop losing the water we already have,” she says. “Reducing losses can significantly increase available supply in a short period.”
AvenirHoldings, a proudly South African engineering firm, is advocating stronger collaboration between government, municipalities and engineering professionals to professionalise infrastructure management and implement performance-based maintenance systems.
With water reliability increasingly affecting economic activity, investor confidence and community stability, Mndzebele says engineering expertise must play a central role in national decision-making.
“Water security is fundamentally an infrastructure issue – and infrastructure problems are solvable when engineering solutions are prioritised.”
