Lekwa Local Municipality, covering Standerton in Mpumalanga, has failed to provide reliable water to its residents for more than a decade. The municipality's water infrastructure has deteriorated to the point where 69% of treated water is lost before reaching consumers — one of the highest loss rates in the country. For every ten litres treated, fewer than four reach a tap.
The human cost has been devastating. Deaths have been attributed to poor water quality — residents drinking contaminated water because the treatment works are non-functional. The municipality received a R70 million environmental fine for sewage pollution, but the fine has not translated into improved services.
Court orders directing the municipality to fix its water and wastewater infrastructure have been issued and ignored. The municipality lacks the institutional capacity to comply — it does not have the engineers, the project managers, or the financial systems to undertake the necessary repairs. Its wastewater treatment works are completely non-functional, with raw sewage flowing into rivers.
A decade of failure means an entire generation in Standerton has grown up without reliable access to clean water. Children walk to school without drinking water at home. Hospitals struggle to maintain hygiene standards. Businesses close or relocate. The social and economic fabric of the town has been fundamentally damaged by a municipality that cannot perform its most basic function.