South Africa: Nelson Mandela Bay Heads for Day Zero As Water Leaks Waste Supply

15 January 2026
Scrolla (Johannesburg)
By Anita Dangazele
  • More than 60 percent of Nelson Mandela Bay's water is lost through leaks broken pipes and poor maintenance.
  • Business leaders and the DA warn the city is heading for Day Zero if urgent repairs are not made.

Nelson Mandela Bay is once again running out of water and this time residents are being told it is man made.

More than 60 percent of the metro's water is being lost through leaking pipes, broken reservoirs and poor maintenance.

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The Democratic Alliance in Nelson Mandela Bay says the city is heading for another Day Zero not because of drought but because the municipality is failing to fix its infrastructure.

DA mayoral candidate Retief Odendaal said over half of the city's bulk water is going to waste.

He said dam levels are already sitting around 40 percent but there is still no proper maintenance plan in place.

"I have written to the Minister of Water and Sanitation and asked for urgent intervention," Odendaal said.

He said the city needs a clear water plan showing which pipes and systems must be fixed first.

Odendaal said the ANC led coalition government cannot be trusted to manage the city's water on its own.

He said the metro spent R1 billion between 2021 and 2023 on drought projects that added 100 megalitres of water a day.

"But without proper repairs most of that water is now being lost," he said.

Meanwhile the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber says businesses are stepping in where the city has failed.

The chamber said it will relaunch its Adopt a School campaign to fix leaks and plumbing at schools.

It will also bring back the Adopt a Leak project which once saved 1.6 million litres of water a day.

Chamber chief executive Denise van Huyssteen said the city is now losing more than half of its treated water.

She said this is costing money, harming the environment and pushing the city closer to collapse.

Water use has climbed to 384 megalitres a day far above the target of 280.

She warned that dam levels are dropping while the city also needs water to fight fires.

"That should worry everyone," she said.

Impofu Dam, the city's main water source, is now at just 26.48 percent.

Van Huyssteen said the city can still be saved but only if residents, government and business act together now.

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