What was gazetted
Free basic water stays at 25 litres a person a day, or 6 kilolitres a household a month, in the draft Strategic Framework for Water and Sanitation Services that Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina gazetted on 11 September 2026. Comments close on 30 October 2026.
The framework was published in Government Gazette 55396 as Government Notice 7914. The department issued an erratum in Gazette 55398 on 14 September 2026, because the first notice page carrying the Minister’s details and the consultation timeframes had been left out. Anyone who downloaded it in the first three days did not have the closing date.
It replaces the 2003 Strategic Framework for Water Services, and sets out how water and sanitation services are planned, delivered, regulated and financed in urban, peri-urban and rural areas.
What the minimum standard actually is
The framework restates the compulsory national standard for a basic water supply. It is the floor a municipality must meet.
| Element | Minimum standard |
|---|---|
| Quantity of potable water | 25 litres per person per day, or 6 kilolitres per household per month |
| Flow rate | Not less than 10 litres a minute |
| Distance from the household | Within 200 metres |
| Maximum interruption | No consumer without supply for more than seven full days in any year |
The minimum standard for basic sanitation is a toilet that is safe, reliable, environmentally sound, easy to keep clean, private, weatherproof, well ventilated and keeps out flies and other disease-carrying pests.
Smart meters and cost-reflective tariffs
Two things in the framework will reach household bills. The first is metering: the framework targets smart meters in 80 per cent of urban households by 2032, with Water Services Authorities and municipal entities responsible.
The second is tariffs. The Revised Norms and Standards in Respect of Tariffs for Water Services, published in Government Gazette 50716 on 27 May 2024, took effect on 1 April 2026. The framework requires tariff setting to follow them, meaning cost-reflective tariffs covering operating, maintenance and capital costs.
Five tariff principles apply: affordability, so a basic supply stays within reach of low-income households; sustainability, so the provider recovers at least the minimum cost of the service; equity; transparency and predictability, which requires the tariff-setting method to be disclosed publicly; and multi-year tariffs. Cross-subsidisation is allowed but must be disclosed.
The targets that matter to a household
| Target area | Updated target | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Access to services | All people have a functioning basic water supply and sanitation facility | 2035 |
| Water quality | 100 per cent compliance with SANS 241 drinking water standards | 2035 |
| Non-revenue water | Reduce national losses to under 25 per cent | 2035 |
| Digital metering | 80 per cent of urban households on smart meters | 2032 |
| Schools | All schools have adequate and safe water and sanitation | 2035 |
| Clinics | All clinics have adequate and safe water and sanitation | 2035 |
| Infrastructure renewal | Every authority renews at least 10 per cent of high-risk ageing assets annually | 2035 |
| Ageing networks | Replace at least 30 per cent of end-of-life pipelines, pumps and process units | 2035 |
Note the dates. The framework lists both the Sustainable Development Goal timeline and its own. Universal access, schools and clinics carry an SDG date of 2030 or 2027 and a South African date of 2035. On its own numbers, the department is planning to be five to eight years late against the international target.
The 2003 scorecard is candid
The draft includes a review of the targets set in 2003. The department marks the status itself, and describes it as preliminary and subject to verification.
| 2003 target | Deadline | Status |
|---|---|---|
| All bucket toilets eradicated | 2006 | Not achieved |
| Investment in water services infrastructure of at least 0,75 per cent of GDP | Ongoing | Not achieved |
| National institutional reform strategy developed | 2004 | Not achieved |
| All people have a functioning basic water supply facility | 2008 | Partially achieved |
| All schools have adequate water and sanitation | 2005 | Partially achieved |
| All clinics have adequate water and sanitation | 2007 | Partially achieved |
| All departmental assets transferred to water services authorities | 2008 | Achieved |
Of nineteen targets reviewed, two are marked achieved.
An independent regulator is proposed
The framework calls an independent economic and water services regulator a cornerstone innovation. At present the Department of Water and Sanitation is both operator and regulator.
A new regulator would approve tariffs, enforce service standards and monitor compliance across the whole value chain. The framework says this needs amendments to the National Water Act and the Water Services Act, and possibly to the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act so the regulator can oversee municipal tariff setting. Separately, the Water Services Amendment Bill introduced on 1 October 2025 is still in parliamentary committees.
Our reporting on South Africa’s deepening water crisis covers the conditions this framework is responding to, municipal tariff increases for 2026 sets out what councils approved this year, and the Budget’s water funding explains where the money is meant to come from.
How to comment
Comments must reach the department by 30 October 2026. Late comments may not be considered.
| Channel | Detail |
|---|---|
| [email protected] | |
| Post | Department of Water and Sanitation, Attention Mr S Ndlovu, Private Bag X131, Pretoria, 0001 |
| Hand delivery | Ndinaye Building, 4034, 178 Francis Baard Street, Pretoria |
| Enquiries | [email protected] or [email protected] |
You do not need a lawyer or an organisation to comment. A short email describing your own experience of supply, interruptions, billing or sanitation is a valid submission.
Where to check
Both notices are free to download from gov.za. The framework is Government Notice 7914 in Gazette 55396 of 11 September 2026, and the erratum carrying the Minister’s notice page and the closing date is Government Notice 7918 in Gazette 55398 of 14 September 2026. Gazettes are also published free at gpwonline.co.za. For anything about your own account or supply, the responsible body is your municipality as Water Services Authority, not the national department.
