Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has apologised to residents for the ongoing water crisis and assured them that supply will be fully restored within seven days.
Speaking outside Rand Water’s Eikenhof pump station on Friday, Morero addressed concerns over his perceived absence during the crisis.
He acknowledged the severity of the situation and said Johannesburg Water is working to increase the number of water tankers in 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 stated.
He attributed the water shortages to power cuts affecting Joburg’s City Power and eMfuleni Local Municipality, which supply electricity to the Eikenhof pump station. He reassured residents that teams are actively addressing issues related to reservoirs and pump stations.
“I would like to apologise to the residents of Johannesburg, it was unexpected; it was a power failure,” he explained.
While acknowledging the hardship of living without water, he urged residents to remain patient, assuring them that the city is doing everything possible to provide relief through water tankers.
Morero also highlighted the need for long-term investments to prevent future disruptions caused by power failures.
Meanwhile, Rand Water has warned that unless consumers reduce their water usage, the system could collapse. Spokesperson Makenosi Maroo emphasised that the entity is working to maintain system integrity and may have to introduce restrictions.
“At the moment, we are giving the three metros (Tshwane, Joburg and Ekurhuleni) an opportunity to introduce levels (of water restrictions) from their side, to ensure that there are interventions so that we manage the consumption,” Maroo said.
Johannesburg remains under level one water restrictions, with Johannesburg Water implementing supply reductions since November last year.
The utility has reported that reservoir levels have dropped to between 30% and 40%, with some areas as low as 20%. However, Maroo reassured residents that levels would not fall below this threshold.
Johannesburg Water has also noted that demand in the city exceeds the volume allocated by Rand Water.
“We strongly urge residents to reduce water consumption wherever possible to help stabilise the system,” the utility stated.
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