City of Joburg in chaos as water crisis boils over

JOHANNESBURG residents continue to endure prolonged water outages, with taps running dry across multiple suburbs for weeks, sparking protests and mounting calls for accountability from the city and Rand Water.

Civil society groups, opposition parties, and affected communities have warned that the crisis has reached a breaking point.

WaterCAN, a civil society organisation advocating for clean and sustainable water services, said the crisis was the result of years of neglect and poor planning.

WaterCAN’s Ferrial Adam said: "The Constitution guarantees both the right to water and the right to protest, but government is failing on both fronts. Communities are going weeks without water when the law says they should never face more than seven days of interruption in a year. That is not a glitch; it is a breach of the law.

"When people stand up and demand their rights, they are met with rubber bullets instead of solutions. This pattern of violent policing shows a state that would rather silence communities than fix broken water systems.

"The government cannot continue to hide behind excuses. It is their legal duty to provide water and to respect the right to protest. Water is not a privilege. Protest is not a crime. Both are constitutional rights, and right now, the government is failing on both."

Adam added that throttling and overnight closures are not solutions.

"They are band-aids that risk doing more harm than good, especially with Johannesburg’s ageing pipes. Engineers warn that constant stop-start pressure weakens the system further. Residents are being made to carry the burden of mismanagement. The truth is, Joburg Water has the technical plans to fix the Commando System.

"What they don’t have is the political will and the money being ring-fenced to get it done. The New Brixton reservoir and tower, the Hursthill 2 reservoir, and a new Crosby pump station could dramatically improve supply within a year or two if the city simply released funds and paid contractors on time.

"Instead, projects are stalled, contractors walk away unpaid, and communities suffer. The cost is not just financial; it is the daily indignity of living without reliable water. The structural fixes are known, achievable, and urgent. What is missing is leadership and accountability from the City of Johannesburg."

She added that the city’s failure to provide consistent communication and timelines was fuelling public anger.

"People cannot live without water, and the lack of transparency from officials is unacceptable."

The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA), a coalition of civic and community groups, echoed these concerns, saying the city’s water infrastructure had been deteriorating for years without proper investment.

"What we are witnessing is the culmination of systemic neglect," the JCA said in a statement. "Residents are being forced to buy water or queue at tankers, while officials continue to make excuses. This is a human rights issue."

Opposition parties have seized on the crisis, pressing for urgent intervention.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the outages were a direct result of mismanagement.

"The reality is that Johannesburg’s water infrastructure has been crumbling for years. The city cannot continue to blame Rand Water alone. It must accept responsibility for its own failing systems."

The party called for an independent audit of Johannesburg Water and for the release of a detailed recovery plan.

"We are demanding accountability. Residents need clear answers on when water will be restored, and what steps are being taken to prevent a repeat of this disaster."

Mayor Dada Morero apologised for the outages, citing technical issues at a pump station affecting the Commando system.

"We do apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience this has caused, mainly in Ivory Park and in the south of Johannesburg," he said.

"That forces us to do a bit of throttling here and there, and that throttling affects a lot of communities. Technicians at Joburg Water are working 24 hours to get the system to recover much quicker."

Morero promised that water would be restored within seven days.

"There are interventions that we are implementing. They’ve started showing us signs of progress because we started yesterday, and today we already see some slight improvement on the system from the 20% that it was sitting at in the morning to 27% this morning. So it is a process… eventually we’ll be able to get the system back."

The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) confirmed that protests had broken out in several suburbs over the water shortages.

Spokesperson Xolani Fihla said officers had been deployed to monitor the demonstrations and ensure safety. "We are aware of community frustration, but we urge residents to remain calm and not resort to violence," Fihla said.

Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroro said they were pumping at full capacity.

"We work closely with our customers to ensure a sustainable water supply. We meet with the three metros daily to discuss water demand, supply, and other related matters."

The JCA said it would intensify its campaign for accountability, including possible legal action. "If the city and Rand Water cannot fulfil their constitutional duty to provide water, then we will pursue every avenue available to protect our communities," the alliance said.

Meanwhile, residents in areas such as Brixton, Hursthill, Crosby, Coronationville, and Westdene have reported going for more than three weeks without running water. Many have had to rely on boreholes, private suppliers, or costly bottled water.

Coronationville and surrounding Johannesburg suburbs were gripped by unrest this week as residents protested prolonged water shortages, prompting a heavy police response, multiple injuries, one arrest, and emergency interventions from provincial and city leadership.

Police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse crowds after residents of Westbury, near Coronationville, barricaded roads with burning tyres, stones, rocks, and debris.

Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed that officers would maintain their presence. “We will be remaining in this area. We’ve deployed our members from public order policing, so we’ll be here until everything is back to normal … So far, we’ve arrested one person for public violence,” Masondo said.

He further said: “I remember this started early this morning. Our members responded and found that the protesters had blockaded roads with rocks and burning tyres. As we were removing those, the community started throwing stones at the police,” and “we used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. People have the right to protest, but not to infringe on others’ rights or commit crimes. In situations like this, criminals often take advantage.”

A 15-year-old boy was hospitalised at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital after being shot in the head, and several other residents sustained injuries from rubber bullets. When asked whether the force used was necessary, Masondo said: “The people we used rubber bullets against were throwing stones at police. We had no choice but to use minimum force — that is, rubber bullets and stun grenades,” adding that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) had been notified: “If anyone believes police acted unlawfully, they are welcome to open a case. IPID will investigate further if necessary.”

Later, Masondo addressed broader claims from the scene: “Police responded to the community protest that turned out to be violent at Coronationville and Westbury on Wednesday, 10 September 2025. The protesters blockaded the roads with burning tyres and rocks.

Streets in Coronationville were choked with smoke and scattered with burning tires, garbage and rubber bullets on Wednesday. Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokesperson Xolani Fihla warned of major traffic disruptions: “Motorists are advised of heavy traffic disruptions in Coronationville, Westbury, West Dean, Martindale and Sophiatown due to ongoing protest action by residents who are aggrieved over prolonged water outages,” noting closures on Fuel Road, Harmony Street, Main Road, Perth Road and Portland Avenue. “Law enforcement officials have been deployed,” he said, advising alternative routes such as Albertina Sisulu Road and Main Reef Road.

On the water supply side, Johannesburg Water said the Commando System, which supplies Coronationville, remains under pressure. “The Commando System is constrained due to a combination of higher demand, limited supply, and infrastructure limitations,” the utility said. “Johannesburg Water is closely monitoring the system and implementing all necessary interventions to ensure optimal water distribution.”

Recovery steps include “overnight closures of outlets, throttling of direct supply and restricting supply in certain areas to boost water pressure to the Commando Meter,” alongside prioritised repairs for leaks and bursts and coordination of alternative supply through ward councillors. “Further updates will be shared as the system stabilises or when operational changes are implemented,” it said.

As protests flared across Westbury, Coronationville, Tembisa, Tsakane, and Vlaskfontein, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi convened an urgent meeting with executive mayors to coordinate responses to water and electricity disruptions. Speaking to IOL, he apologised and acknowledged socio-economic pressures: “This unfortunate turn of events is regretted. The reality is that our people are raising genuine issues, and we also acknowledge that many are unemployed and therefore unable to pay for some services, which puts pressure on municipalities to provide free and adequate services,” he said.

He further said: “The matter of water has been brought to our attention, and we have engaged senior officials to address it,” and, “Our communities don’t have to be on the street for their issues to be taken seriously. We have been working on these matters and continue to make strides to resolve them.”

Lesufi also cited complicating factors: “Unfortunately, some services are disrupted by illegal connections, the increasing influx into the city, and other elements of crime that the City is actively addressing.”

Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero linked interruptions to recent technical issues: “In areas where protests erupted, issues such as transformers blowing up and electrical failures have frustrated communities,” he said. “City Power is working towards full reconnection in affected areas. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.”

On water, Morero said: “In the north of Johannesburg, there have been water shortages, but the city is working hard to rebuild ageing infrastructure and ensure it operates as required.” He also said the Eikenhof pump station “had some technical problems that it experienced a few days ago, and indicated that the system has to recover, and this takes time and forces the municipality to do throttling to allow the recovery.”

Elsewhere, tensions over water also surfaced in Kokosi in the Merafong Local Municipality, where the community has been without water for over three weeks. A water tanker dispatched on Tuesday allegedly demanded payment for water, targeting sangomas, churches, and other vulnerable groups. Merafong Municipality did not respond to questions at the time of publication.

As authorities work on recovery plans and infrastructure constraints persist, Johannesburg Water said it is “closely monitoring the system” and will provide “further updates… as the system stabilises or when operational changes are implemented.” Premier Panyaza Lesufi apologised to residents affected by the turmoil, reaffirming the government's commitment to swiftly resolving these pressing issues.

mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za

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