Residents face more supply cuts while Johannesburg Water clams up over crisis

On top of ongoing water outages in Johannesburg, the city’s bulk water provider, Johannesburg Water, has scheduled a water shutdown for almost 40 hours for a maintenance project on one of its pipelines.

Joburg Water spokesperson Nolwazi Dhlamini said: “The purpose of the shutdown is to complete a tie-in of the newly replaced section of the G20 pipeline to its existing pipeline. The planned maintenance is necessary to ensure the continuous future provision of water to our customers.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: Joburg’s latest water outages – residents ask: ‘Is this sabotage or secret shedding?’

The shutdown is scheduled from 11-13 May and will result in no water supply to parts of Winchester Hills, Mondeor, Glenanda and surrounding areas.

A tanker delivers water in Yeoville on 8 May 2023. (Photo: Twitter / @JHBWater)

This comes after parts of the city including Berea, Bertrams,  Bezuidenhout Valley, Kensington, Belleview, Observatory, Parktown, Hillbrow and Braamfontein were without running water for close to a week.

Yeoville has had intermittent water supply since the end of March and Tuesday marked eight days with no water, according to residents.

Johannesburg Water has not given a timeline for when the water supply will be restored, but it is dispatching water tankers to service the affected areas.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Yeoville residents frustrated by ‘sporadic’ water supply

Yeoville resident Brian Nare told Daily Maverick: “Imagine a month of no running water… No communication whatsoever from Johannesburg Water regarding what the problem is or when it will be fixed. This is beyond a crisis level.

“Water tankers come into the community at specific times during the day and if you are working it is hard to keep up with their schedules or get enough water for all purposes.

“It’s hard, but we have somehow gotten used to a lack of service delivery in the area, so this is no surprise.”

Another resident going by the name of Mavovo said: “I think this is a way to force us back home to our different countries… there is a narrative that Yeoville, Hillbrow and Berea have been hijacked by foreign nationals.

“And if not providing us with basic needs is the price we pay for being from other countries, then we’d rather go home. This is inhumane – a whole month with interrupted supply and eight days of no water at all.”

Daily Maverick approached Rand Water and Johannesburg Water to find out what’s causing the interruptions in the water supply and what is being done to resolve the long-standing crisis.

‘No water supply challenges’

Rand Water’s spokesperson Makenosi Maroo told Daily Maverick that there are no water supply challenges for Johannesburg.

“However, it is public knowledge that some areas of the province (Gauteng) experienced intermittent water supply challenges, largely as a result of high water consumption created by soaring summer temperatures.

“It is also known that the country is experiencing load shedding which also causes residual electricity supply problems. These factors have a direct impact on some municipalities’ ability to supply sufficient water without interruption.”

What’s causing the interruptions?

Last week, Joburg Water’s Puleng Mopeli confirmed to Eyewitness News that Yeoville’s reservoir issues were causing water outages in some areas of the city. This comes after the reservoir flooded at the end of March during planned maintenance, damaging its pumping infrastructure.

Yeoville water tower. Joburg water please come and assist. pic.twitter.com/6IhDRezkck

— Mkhulu (@Mkhulu57321192) March 30, 2023

Attempts to get comment from Joburg Water were unsuccessful. The unanswered questions include:

1. When will water be restored for the affected residents?


2. What is the current state of water supply in Johannesburg, and what steps are being taken to address any ongoing issues?


3. What is the current status of the water conservation and demand management programme, and what progress has been made in reducing water consumption in Johannesburg?


4. What are some of the long-term plans for improving water supply in Johannesburg, and how will these plans be implemented?


5. How is Johannesburg Water dealing with local communities to ensure that everyone has access to clean and safe water?


6. What is the role of Johannesburg Water in addressing issues related to water quality, and what measures are being taken to ensure that the water supply is safe for consumption?


7. What is being done to ensure that water infrastructure is properly maintained and upgraded to meet the growing demand for water in Johannesburg?


8. How has climate change affected water supply in Johannesburg, and what strategies are in place to mitigate these impacts?


9. What are some of the major challenges that Johannesburg Water has faced in providing consistent access to clean water, and how have these challenges been addressed in the past? DM