The country’s water predicament is a symptom of a much deeper crisis that goes well beyond the effects of the El Nino phenomenon and can be attended to only through a fundamental shift in economic governance. The crisis is now spilling over to livelihoods, food production and health, affecting entire communities and pushing hundreds of thousands of citizens deeper into poverty. While appeals to save water through wiser use at the household level may be important, they risk missing what is really wrong with water governance in SA.