As both an environmental and a social and political issue, water is still difficult to afford for poor South African households. Since the end of Apartheid, the democratic government has considered the provision of drinking water as being an integral part of its development strategy. This article shows how the South African government has tried two very different water policies since 1994, one of the extension of service provision, and one based on cost recovery, before eventually inventing a balanced and original policy that combines free water provision with cost recovery in 2000. Even though this policy may theoretically look like a model for development, it still has to demonstrate its financial sustainability and social efficiency. Both are uncertain at present, but one can only hope that South Africa is inventing a revolutionary new water policy.