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Water down the drain — announcing the winners of SA’s ‘Leakiest Cities’ awards

Daily Maverick · · 620 words · By Tony Carnie
Government Accountability and Transparency Municipal Water Management Failure
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-29-water-down-the-drain-announci…

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Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 8
schedule Pending 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info
“More than 171 million cubic metres of clean tap water — enough to supply the two biggest cities in the Eastern Cape or the entire Northern Cape — go to waste in eThekwini every year due to municipal pipe bursts, leaking valves or overflowing reservoirs.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim specifies a volume (171 million cubic metres) and a specific loss mechanism (pipe bursts, leaking valves, overflowing reservoirs) for eThekwini. The provided web search results do not contain this specific figure or the detailed comparison to the Eastern Cape or Northern Cape. The evidence is insufficient to corroborate the precise volume stated in the claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Year 171 (CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 924 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/171
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Air India Flight 171 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, to London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_171
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Flight 171 may refer to the following aviation incidents or significant flights: Indian Airlines Flight 171, crashed while landing at Bombay Airport, 1976 Air India Flight 171, crashed just after tak…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_171
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“This came to light after Daily Maverick requested the eThekwini Municipality to provide a copy of the city’s latest water balance sheet — part of a standardised accounting system to assess water loss and non-revenue water (NRW) in municipalities across the world.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results discuss eThekwini's water losses and NRW, but none of the provided snippets explicitly state that 'Daily Maverick requested the eThekwini Municipality's latest water balance sheet' for the purpose of assessing NRW. This specific action and request are not confirmed by the evidence.
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web search NEUTRAL — The eThekwini Municipality's new water loss control engineer is set to tackle the alarming R4.9 billion in losses from non-revenue water, promising a strategic overhaul that could reshape the city's w…
https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/2026-04-22…
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web search NEUTRAL — The issue of water losses is a serious concern for the eThekwini Municipality. In a statement recently, the DA in eThekwini claimed that NRW was much higher than recorded, placing its level at 60.9%.
https://themercury.co.za/news/2026-02-06-umngeni-uthukela-wa…
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web search NEUTRAL — Currently, the average water consumption in eThekwini is very high at 298 litres per capita (person), per day (l/c/d) compared to the international average of 173 l/c/d, according to the municipality.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/addressing-water-scarcity-eth…
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“The DWS provided a water loss table for eight of South Africa’s largest metros, clearly demonstrating that eThekwini is losing the largest volume of water nationwide from physical leaks.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results confirm that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and eThekwini are involved in discussions about water losses and leaks. However, the evidence does not contain the specific 'water loss table' or the definitive statement that DWS provided a table showing eThekwini loses the largest volume nationwide from physical leaks. This specific finding is not corroborated by the provided evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Department of Water and Sanitation is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa. In May 2009, following the e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Water_and_Sanita…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ever since the emergence of sedentary societies (often precipitated by the development of agriculture), human settlements have had to contend with the closely-related logistical challenges of sanitati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_water_supply_and_sa…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ministry of Jal Shakti (lit. 'Ministry of Water Resources') is a ministry under the Government of India which was formed in May 2019 under the second Modi ministry. This was formed by merging of t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Jal_Shakti
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The table shows that almost 54% of water supplied to eThekwini by the Umngeni-uThukela Water utility is classified as non-revenue water (NRW).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results confirm that uMngeni-uThukela Water is addressing water losses and NRW in eThekwini. However, the evidence does not contain the specific figure that 'Almost 54% of water supplied to eThekwini by the Umngeni-uThukela Water utility is classified as non-revenue water (NRW).' This specific percentage is not confirmed by the evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2021 South African Municipal Elections were held on 1 November 2021, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It was the 6…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_South_African_municipal_e…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Provin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KwaZulu-Natal
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web search NEUTRAL — Xaba said uMngeni-uThukela Water has put its “foot down” and won't lift the curtailment until the municipality addresses NRW. Yogis Govender, DA councillor and Exco member, requested a detailed graph …
https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/2026-04-22…
+ 2 more evidence sources
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“The biggest component of this NRW is “physical losses” (leaks and overflows), which amounts to 40.4% of the total system input volume (more than 423 million m³ per year).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results discuss physical losses and NRW in eThekwini, including general statements about high loss rates. However, the evidence does not contain the specific breakdown that 'Physical losses account for 40.4% of the total system input volume (over 423 million m³)' for eThekwini. This specific quantitative data point is not confirmed by the evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Schipbeek is a tributary of the IJssel in the Netherlands and a continuation of the Buurserbeek. It flows into the IJssel near Deventer. The real source of the Schipbeek is in Germany - in western…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schipbeek
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Philippines' contemporary water supply system dates back to 1946, after the country declared independence. Government agencies, local institutions, non-government organizations, and other corporat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — European Union law is a system of supranational laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Originally referred to as Community law, it has grown over time since the 1952 fo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_European_Union
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Though Mangaung’s physical leak rate (41.2%) is almost 1% higher than eThekwini on a percentage basis, the Mangaung losses are dwarfed by the sheer volume of water going to waste in eThekwini.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results mention Mangaung and eThekwini in the context of water losses. However, the evidence does not provide the specific comparative leak rates (41.2% for Mangaung) or the quantitative comparison of total water loss volume required to confirm this claim.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bloemfontein ( BLOOM-fon-tayn; Afrikaans: [ˈblumfɔntəin]), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloemfontein
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (Sotho: Masepala o Moholo wa Mangaung; Zulu: UMasipala weDolobhakazi laseMangawunge; Afrikaans: Mangaung Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; Tswana: Mmasepala wa Tor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangaung_Metropolitan_Municipa…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Mangaung Prison (Afrikaans: Mangaung-gevangenis) is a maximum security prison in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa. The prison is privately owned and managed by the company G4S as part of a c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangaung_Prison
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The metro with the third-worst record is Nelson Mandela Bay, where more than 53% of supplies were classified as NRW (with almost 35% attributed to physical losses).”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results do not mention Nelson Mandela Bay, its NRW rate (53%), or the breakdown of physical losses (35%). Therefore, the claim cannot be verified or corroborated using the provided evidence.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Keuze uit een grote collectie stijlvolle schoenen, tassen en accessoires. Voor 23:00u besteld, morgen in huis en gratis afhalen en retour in 100+ winkels. Shop nu op Nelson.nl.
https://www.nelson.nl/
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web search NEUTRAL — Kortom, bij Nelson vind je de perfecte schoenen voor elke gelegenheid en seizoen. Of je nu op zoek bent naar pumps, sneakers, enkellaarsjes, hoge laarzen, sandalen of slippers, Nelson heeft het allema…
https://www.nelson.nl/dames/schoenen/
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web search NEUTRAL — Schoenen kopen bij Nelson Schoenen Bij Nelson vind je voor elk seizoen en elke gelegenheid schoenen voor dames, heren en kinderen. Onze grote collectie biedt je de nieuwste modellen van verschillende …
https://www.nelson.nl/schoenen/
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“In Johannesburg, almost half the water supplied is now classified as NRW, with just over a quarter of the losses due to physical leaks.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results confirm that Johannesburg (Gauteng) is a focus area for NRW management. However, the evidence does not contain the specific figures that 'almost half the water supplied is classified as NRW, and just over a quarter of the losses are due to physical leaks.' This specific quantitative data is not confirmed by the evidence.
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web search NEUTRAL — As recently highlighted in provinces such as Gauteng, non-revenue water (NRW) is a critical issue for municipalities. NRW refers to water that is produced and supplied but does not generate revenue be…
https://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/WW+Nov+-+Dec…
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web search NEUTRAL — Over the years, South Africa has built a considerable foundation for sound performance regulation in the potable water quality, wastewater quality and in the past ten years, Non-Revenue Water and wate…
https://www.dws.gov.za/Projects/wueew/documents/webinfo/Benc…
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web search NEUTRAL — The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuri…
https://www.wits.ac.za/media/wits-university/study/schools-l…
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“Among the big cities, Cape Town has the lowest rate of NRW (24%), of which 20.4% is from leaks.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim, and the search results did not yield any information regarding Cape Town's NRW rate or leak percentages.
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“According to a 2015 benchmark study by the Department of Water and Sanitation, the countrywide NRW figure of 37% at that time represented income losses of around R7-billion.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim, and the search results did not yield any information regarding a 2015 DWS benchmark study or the R7-billion income loss figure.
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“For example, NRW figures in Albania and Armenia were as high as 70%, whereas NRW in developed countries such as Australia and New Zealand was below 10%.”
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“Germany and the Netherlands have recorded NRW rates of 6%, while the Danish capital, Copenhagen, lost just 4%.”
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“The national water and sanitation department has previously suggested that a realistic NRW target of 25% in South Africa could be achieved within 10 years by investing about R2-billion annually in water conservation and water demand measures.”
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“Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina published a summary of the latest No Drop progress report, suggesting that average NRW on a national basis had reached over 47%, with leaks accounting for 32% of these losses.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.