# Johannesburg Emergency Water Supply
## Water security in Johannesburg

The water supply system in Johannesburg, South Africa, has increasingly not been able to supply residents with water. Since 2016 the city has practiced “water throttling” to reduce demand, instead of addressing the problem of unaccounted for water and non-revenue water.

## History of water supply

Reliable and regular water supply in Johannesburg is not a new issue. In 1903 the Water Works Commission established the Rand Water Board to address the matter. Those responsible for the management water systems were expected to address the following. To
* source water
* treat and purify the water,
* distribute the potable water in the region via a water network,
* store water in reservoirs and towers and
* make drinking water available to residents via their taps.
A household is deemed to have a reliable water service when they have access to clean drinking water for 365 days a year, and if there is a water interruption, this lasts only two days That’s according to the South African Department of Human Settlements.

## Engineering a stable water supply in Jo’burg

When the gold reef was discovered in 1886, the thousands of prospectors drew their water from spruit on the perimeter of the mining camps. Industry, a growing population, and increased pollution created a need for alternate water sources. In 1899, a pumphouse established by the Zuurbekom Water Supply Company ensured that potable water was supplied to Johannesburg. At this time, Sammy Marx had also proposed the Vaal river as a water source, but these plans could not be financed.
By 1923, Marx’s plans were realized and the Vaal River Barrage Reservoir was completed This provided the Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand with essential water.
In 1938, the Vaal Dam Project has a catchment area that covers 38 505 square kilometers. This was the largest irrigation scheme in the southern hemisphere at that time, the project also created another key source of water for the Rand Water Board. This dam became a part of the Vaal River Catchment System. Which is made up of four subcatchment regions ( Grootdraai, Waterval, Wilge and the Vaal Dam reservoir). Alternately known as the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS).
In 1974, the Thukela Vaal River water transfer scheme pumped water up from kwa Zulu Natal to the Sterkfontein Dam near Phuthaditjaba. This served as an additional water storage facility and fed the Wilge river in the Vaal catchment area.
In 1986, a treaty initiated the Lesotho Highlands Water project, initiated another water transfer scheme. This time between Lesotho and South Africa. This binational scheme was broken up into multiple phases and involved building of dams and tunnels, to supply both water and hydro powered electricity for both countries. In 2023, phase two of this project was launched, nine years behind schedule, by President Cyril Ramaphosa

## Water Interruptions

The quality of drinking water in Johannesburg is a lauded feature of the city, and city residents once saw not buying bottled water as a political statement.
However, the unreliability of the water supply network in the rural areas has started to become a feature of large cities. Recently Johannesburg citizens have experienced erratic water supply. These interruptions are due to corruption and infrastructure failures. This article seeks to construct a general impression of the management of public water infrastructure networks in the city, during water emergencies.
Johannesburg, much like the rest of the country, needs to address the complex developmental challenges associated with improving the water network. Below are accounts of COJ and Rand Water Board’s performance when the city’s water systems are interrupted.

## February 2025

At a media briefing on 14 February 2025, Joburg Mayor Dana Mororo apologized to the 60% of residents for the extended water outages, while Rand Water Board continued to blame Customer over consumption. The mayor also offered re-assurance that water supply would return with another week.

## December 2024

Rand Water announced that a water shut down would begin on Friday, 13 December 2024 until the evening of Monday, 16 December. Water supply would be disrupted because of work being done the operations areas that is fed from the Eikenhof Pump Station. The disruption will affect 60% of the city. Although the scheduled time is 86 hours, residents have expressed concerns about the knock on effect of 1–2 weeks after the shutdown is completed and an extended periods of low pressure during the recovery phase.

## June 2024

On the 3 June 2024, Rand Water announced a proactive and planned infrastructure and asset maintenance initiative to run later that month, from 22 June to 29 July—the intent to upgrade pipes and improve water supply. Rand Water's media release explained that water availability in the wider Johannesburg Metropolitan Region would be impacted as the pumping from Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes Palmiet and Mapleton systems would be reduced to effect repairs to infrastructure.
On the 13 of June 2024, at the 27th Extra-Ordinary Council Meeting, the MMC for Finance (Counsellor Dada Morero) requested that the council to approve a R2.5 billion loan from Agence Française de Développement (FDA) to finance the repairs. This would be repaid over 15 years. Total repayment costs of R5.7 billion.
Johannesburg Water claimed it was prepared for Rand Water's "Winter Water Shutdown". Residents were notified about five weeks of water interruptions beforehand. As the water throttling proceeded, The Daily Maverick reported that many suburbs (Observatory, Kensington, Greenside, Emmarentia, Melville, North Riding, Crown Mines, Bergbron, Killarney, Witpoortjie and parts of Randburg), were unable to access water and their taps run dry. Joburg Water, (an independent company with the City of Johannesburg its only shareholder), reassured residents that the reduced "flow pressure" is not a crisis. Interruptions to supply during the 37 day planned maintenance period would occur. Four service providers would dispatch eighty-five roaming water trucks to relieve those with empty taps in the affected regions. 250 JoJo tanks will also be stationed at specific locations (hospitals, clinics, senior homes, schools, police stations, direct feed areas) to assist residents. Confidence, from the northern suburbs, in water providers capacity to manage supply, had been shaken by a nine-day water shutdown, caused by a closed valve. Allegations of nepotism around the appointment of a chief operations officer, have contributed to an erosion of trust.

## Water Sector Infrastructure

Johannesburg's water grid faces multiple challenges. Immediate issues are leaking pipes, faulty or broken water meters, illegal connections and poor billing and revenue collection. Poor operation and infrastructure maintenance have led to unnecessary vulnerabilities in the system. For example, non-revenue water (NRW) sat at 44.8% in 2023. COJ Water pays Rand Water (the supplier) for bulk water but does not collect revenue for half of it, as it is lost. Longer term issues are the erosion of trust and a deterioration in municipal drinking water quality, according to the "Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop" reports. That indicates that 50% of drinking water systems are not drinkable.

## Water Stress in South Africa

Water Supply in South Africa is a critical matter since the country is a water-scarce country The debate among experts was, at one time, whether this scarcity could be attributed to physical or economic factors. As of 2009, the consensus was that South Africa was not facing a water crisis. These opinions may need to be revised.
This "instability of supply" can be attributed to poor governance. Corruption in the South African water sector has become systemic. The Department of Water and Sanitation are expected to act as the custodian of South Africa's water resources. They have not been able to fulfill their mandate.
A report by Corruption Watch and the Water Integrity Network in 2020 noted that corruption in the Department of Water and Sanitation exacerbates water shortages in South Africa. Although South Africa may be a water-scarce country, drought is not the only cause of water insecurity. The corruption that extends from "taps in rural villages to the systems that supply South Africa's economic heartland" has exacerbated the situation.
The more significant issue is about the just allocation of water resources and the effects of state capture on water supply across the country. South Africa is one of the few countries worldwide that has enshrined the fundamental right to sufficient water in its Constitution. "Everyone has the right to have access to [...] sufficient food and water." Despite the Mazibuko vs COJ judgement, where the constitutional court addressed the fundamental constitutional right of access to water. Water-related rights and the allocation of water resources should address poverty, equity and create jobs, and economic growth. Across South Africa, water-stressed places get by. Water-shedding is common in many towns and villages across the country. Water scarcity only enters the news headlines, when a water supply crisis affects a major economic centre, such as the Cape Town water crisis or what is well known in Johannesburg, where there's another example of infrastructure and maintenance that is no longer adequately controlled and managed.

## Constitutionally Informed Action is Required

Water allocation remains an ongoing challenge for the whole of South Africa, with numerous calls for action for the private sector to address the water issue. Water allocation at present is focused primarily on either big business or middle class communities at the expense of vulnerable communities located in remote regions.
Water instability in Johannesburg is a blow to the city's reputation as a "World Class African City", but challenges in water management also have to be seen as part of the greater climate change crisis. Johannesburg has yet just begun to reckon with water scarcity, let alone the warmer and drier conditions that climate change models predict or the drier and warmer conditions which have implications for livelihoods. If water scarcity is to be addressed, then immediate and decisive constitutionally informed action is necessary. Perhaps the city and the country need a Water Indaba