'Water crisis in Gauteng has reached an unacceptable level': DA demands urgent action

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is demanding urgent intervention from Gauteng’s water entities and municipal leaders amid ongoing mass water shut-offs that have severely impacted large parts of the province.

In response to the crisis, the DA has called for special sittings of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water to hold these entities accountable.

DA deputy spokesperson on Water and Sanitation, Stephen Moore, expressed deep concern over the situation, stating that the ongoing water shortages have reached an unacceptable level.

“The problem Gauteng faces is a combination of pressing issues,” Moore said.

This comes after hundreds of thousands of Johannesburg residents once again woke up to dry taps last week, a situation that has sadly become the norm. Many residents have previously endured days, sometimes weeks without water.

The latest outage stems from a power failure at the Vereeniging purification plant on February 11, which disrupted water supply to Joburg Water and its customers. Most reservoirs, already critically low, are now completely empty, further worsening the crisis.

Last week, the DA also called for the dissolution of Johannesburg Water’s board, citing the entity’s failure to maintain water supply systems and a lack of effective leadership.

In addition, the party has urged the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to conduct a full investigation into municipal officials responsible for the failures, which have violated South Africans’ constitutional right to clean, safe water.

The DA is also pushing for investigations into the mismanagement of municipal funds, particularly the misuse of budget allocations meant for essential infrastructure maintenance.

“If municipalities have failed to allocate budgets for infrastructure maintenance while using funds for non-essential purposes, they must be held accountable,” the DA stated.

Moore emphasised the urgency of addressing these challenges, especially as Rand Water has reported a nearly 35% drop in reservoir levels over the past month.

This has raised alarms about a potential collapse of the water supply system. Water entities are already pumping at full capacity, which is unsustainable given the high temperatures and widespread leaks.

The water crisis is affecting numerous communities, including Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Sasolburg, Benoni, and municipalities such as Emfuleni, Metsimaholo, and Johannesburg. The shortage is no longer confined to Gauteng, with other provinces also feeling the strain.

On the weekend, the Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister, David Mahlobo, spoke with eNCA about what is being done to address these challenges.

"We must be in a position to indicate that the water system in many parts of our country, in Gauteng, in particular Johannesburg, that system remains very vulnerable.

"At any point, there are many disturbances that are happening. Some of these disturbances are objective, and some of them are very subjective,'' he said.

Mahlobo stated that the national and provincial governments, including Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina, are working with relevant officials to resolve the crisis.

He cited a prolonged power outage that affected Rand Water’s supply system via Emfuleni Local Municipality as a major factor contributing to the crisis. He also noted that the Minister of Electricity would be involved in managing the challenge.

In addition to the power outages, Mahlobo pointed to long-term water losses within the province as a critical issue that would take time to resolve.

IOL reported that Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said Johannesburg Water has committed to try to increase the number of water tankers in the affected areas.

”Now you see the reservoirs starting to fill up, a few areas already have water back. But we are now committing ourselves to the residents of Johannesburg that in the next seven days, everyone will have water,” Morero promised.

He blamed the water shortages on power cuts experienced by Joburg’s City Power and eMfuleni Local Municipality, which supply electricity to the Eikenhof pump station.

The teams were hard at work to ensure that they dealt with issues that involved reservoirs and pumps, he said.

”I would like to apologise to the residents of Johannesburg, it was unexpected; it was a power failure,” Morero explained.

“The announcement this week by Rand Water that reservoir levels have dropped by almost 35% is alarming and demands immediate action,” Moore said.

The DA is now calling on Majodina to take a more active role in overseeing plans for improving water infrastructure, reducing leaks, and holding municipalities accountable.

“Water is a basic human right, and residents deserve a reliable and sustainable supply,” Moore said.

The DA said it remains committed to ensuring the government takes urgent action to resolve the water shortages in Gauteng and will continue holding officials accountable for their failures.

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