The Department of Water Affairs was allocated a total amount of R7.9 billion in the 2010/11 financial year. In the first quarter the Department had projected to spend R1.9 billion of its budget but only spent R1.2 billion or 15.9 per cent of the allocation. This meant that the Department had under spent by R724 million or 9 per cent of the projected amount in the first quarter. This under expenditure was due to the slow spending which was experienced by the Department in all economic classifications despite having projected to spend at least 25 per cent of its budget in the first quarter.