Editing Water supply and sanitation in South Africa (section)

===Service provision===
Responsibility for service provision is shared among various entities: The country's 231 municipalities are in charge of water distribution and sanitation either directly or indirectly through municipally owned enterprises or private companies; government-owned water boards are in charge of operating bulk water supply infrastructure and some wastewater systems; and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority finances and develops dams and bulk water supply infrastructure.

[[File:Map of South Africa with provinces shaded and districts numbered (2011).svg|thumb|450px|Map showing the districts (numbered) of South Africa
{{legend-col|thumb size=wide
|{{legend|#8DD3C7|[[Eastern Cape]]}}
|{{legend|#BEBADA|[[Free State (South African province)|Free State]]}}
|{{legend|#FFFFB3|[[Gauteng]]}}
|{{legend|#FB8072|[[KwaZulu-Natal]]}}
|{{legend|#80B1D3|[[Limpopo]]}}
|{{legend|#FDB462|[[Mpumalanga]]}}
|{{legend|#FCCDE5|[[North West (South African province)|North West]]}}
|{{legend|#B3DE69|[[Northern Cape]]}}
|{{legend|#BC80BD|[[Western Cape]]}}
}}]]
'''Municipalities'''. According to the Constitution, the Municipal Structures Act and the Water Services Act of 1997<ref name="WSA"/> responsibility for the provision of water and sanitation services lies with water services authorities, which the Water Services Act defines as the municipalities. There are 52 district municipalities and 231 local municipalities in South Africa (see [[Municipalities of South Africa]]).<ref name="eThekwini Municipality">{{cite web|last=eThekwini Municipality|title=eThekwinie Water and Sanitation: Who we Are?|url=http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/water_sanitation/About_Us/Pages/default.aspx|access-date=8 September 2012|archive-date=7 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807075926/http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/water_sanitation/About_Us/Pages/default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In many cases, the district municipalities are the water services authorities. However, the national government can assign responsibility for service provision to local municipalities. Overall, there are 169 water services authorities in South Africa, including water boards, district municipalities, local municipalities and municipal companies. Usually municipalities provide water and sanitation services directly through a municipal unit or department. For example, eThekwini (Durban) provides these services through the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit.<ref name="eThekwini Municipality"/>

However, they can delegate this responsibility to a water services provider for a defined period. For example, in 2001 the city of Johannesburg created Johannesburg Water, a legally and financially independent company wholly owned by the municipality. This was done as part of a "Transformation Plan" embarked upon by the Greater Johannesburg Municipal Authority at the time. Johannesburg Water has committed itself to comply with the provisions of the [[King Report on Corporate Governance]], including affirmative action, transparency, performance evaluation, a code of ethics, professional risk management and sustainability reporting.

The 1996 constitution strengthened the autonomy of municipalities. As a consequence, the responsibility for rural water supply and sanitation has been transferred from the national government, represented by DWAF, to municipalities.
 
{{main|Water privatisation in South Africa}}
'''Private sector participation'''. Since 1994 some municipalities have involved the private sector in service provision in various forms, including contracts for specific services such as wastewater treatment, short-term management contracts and long-term concessions.

{{Main|Water Board (South Africa)}}

'''Water Boards'''. The 13 government-owned Water Boards play a key role in the South African water sector. They operate dams, bulk water supply infrastructure, some retail infrastructure and some wastewater systems. Some also provide technical assistance to municipalities.

'''Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority'''. The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) is a state-owned entity with the mission to finance and implement bulk raw water infrastructure. It was created in 1986 to develop the Lesotho Highland Water Project, a joint project between Lesotho and South Africa. As of 2012, TCTA has developed or is developing six other dam and bulk water supply projects throughout the country, including the [[Berg River Dam]]. TCTA sells bulk water to the government, represented by the Department of Water as the owner of the Water Boards that treat the water and sell it on to municipalities and mines. TCTA uses these revenues mainly to repay the debt it has raised to finance its infrastructure, its operating costs and to pay royalties to the government of Lesotho.<ref>{{cite web|last=Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority|title=Home Page|url=https://www.tcta.co.za/|access-date=5 September 2012}}</ref>