By Sihle Mavuso
The Department of Water and Sanitation has directed the Pongola-Umzimkhulu Catchment Management Agency (PUCMA) to rein in Umgeni-Uthukela Water (UUW) over continued abstraction above its licensed limits, warning that KwaZulu-Natal’s water security could be threatened if demand is not reduced ahead of predicted dry conditions in 2027.
The directive is contained in a letter dated 14 September 2026 from Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina to Dr Thava Kelly, chairperson of PUCMA, which is responsible for managing water resources across the Pongola-Umzimkulu catchment area.
The letter came a week after Majodina wrote to eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba rejecting the municipality’s request to draw more water from the uMngeni Water Supply System, saying the city had failed to sufficiently reduce high water losses and demand.
Majodina said the metro’s non-revenue water remained “unacceptably high”, while unresolved water faults had increased. She said the department had granted eThekwini six concessions and deferments since July 2023 to reduce demand and excessive water losses.
She said there was no reasonable basis to conclude that another deferment would produce a different result.
In her letter to Kelly, Majodina said excessive abstraction by UUW had been raised by the department as far back as July 2023, but the problem remained unresolved.
“Despite ongoing engagement between the Department, UUW and affected Municipalities, abstraction volumes from the system continue to exceed the authorised licence limits and the required demand reductions have not been achieved. The Department is concerned that continued abstraction above licensed volumes, together with the current dry conditions, declining dam storage levels, and non-compliance with the approved operating rules, poses a significant risk to the long-term sustainability of the uMngeni Water Supply System and water security within the region,” Majodina said in the letter to Kelly.
Majodina told Kelly that she had also written to Advocate Vusi Khuzwayo, chairperson of the UUW board, instructing the entity to reduce its water abstraction by 12% by May 2027 and expedite all actions necessary to commission and operate the Inanda pump station.
“I request that the Pongola-Umzimkulu Catchment Management Agency (PUCMA) monitor the implementation of these measures and assess UUW’s progress towards achieving compliance with its water use licence conditions and the approved operating rules.
“Should UUW fail to make satisfactory progress towards achieving the required demand reductions, compliance with its licensed abstraction volumes, or operation of the system in accordance with the approved operating rules, PUCMA is requested to take the necessary regulatory action available in terms of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998), including the issuance of a Directive where appropriate, to secure compliance and protect the water resource,” Majodina added.
UUW spokesperson Siyabonga Maphumulo said the entity had experienced a gradual increase in water demand in areas supplied through the uMngeni River system in recent years.
“This increase in water demand from some municipalities supplied by the uMngeni Water Supply System has resulted in UUW over the past few years abstracting more water than permitted under the conditions of its water use licence issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation in order to meet the demand,” he said.
Maphumulo said UUW was preparing for the predicted El Niño conditions next year and assured municipalities that the system would not run out of water.
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