Water
Elections 2026: This municipality is pouring sewage into the Vaal River
Streams that feed the river are being contaminated by failing wastewater treatment in Matlosana municipality
Text by Seth Thorne. Photos by Ihsaan Haffejee.
Feature | 30 September 2026
Elections 2026: This failing town is knee-deep in sewage
Tswaing municipality in the North West spends money on court battles and consultants
Text by Seth Thorne. Photos by Ihsaan Haffejee.
Feature | 24 September 2026
Elections 2026: This town only gets water for an hour a day
Kou-Kamma Local Municipality says it needs R210-million to upgrade and maintain water and sanitation infrastructure
Feature | 21 September 2026
Raw sewage is flowing in nearly every metro
Sewage treatment scores have dropped in seven out of eight metro municipalities
Chart by The Outlier. Text by GroundUp Staff.
Charts | 18 September 2026
Makhanda’s decade-long struggle for reliable water
Upgrades to the water treatment plant to solve the crisis that started in 2015 are yet to be completed
By Sindisiwe Tshona and Loyiso Dyongman
News | 16 September 2026
Elections 2026: N1 town’s decade of decay
Beaufort West municipality says it does not have enough money to fix its ageing infrastructure. But the problem is self-inflicted
Text by Mary-Anne Gontsana. Photos by Ashraf Hendricks.
Feature | 16 September 2026
Video: Joburg’s water crisis, explained
We unpack why taps are dry
By Seth Thorne and Ihsaan Haffejee
Video | 14 September 2026
No reliable water in Cofimvaba villages for over five years
Chris Hani District Municipality says it spent over R9-million in 11 months repairing vandalised water infrastructure
News | 14 September 2026
Mpumalanga municipality admits taps are dry – but blames City of Tshwane
Tshwane is contracted to supply 16.6-million litres a day but has only been supplying 350,000
By Warren Mabona and Seth Thorne
News | 9 September 2026