Gauteng is heading into a difficult summer. Peak water demand is already forecast to exceed available supply, leaving the rand Water system under severe strain. For residents, that means November and December could bring rolling outages and dry taps if urgent action is not taken.
Parliament has been in recess, which has allowed me to travel across Gauteng to see the state of our water infrastructure . My visits resoundingly tell me we are in for a very difficult summer due to municipal failures.
Winter is meant to be a period with lower water demand and supply to allow municipalities to do necessary infrastructure repairs, before the system faces strain in summer. Gauteng’s municipalities have not done this, as my visits have revealed: reservoirs standing idle, projects stalled, and billions spent without real improvements to water security.
Gauteng residents ought to be furious, as I am; despite paying more in rates and taxes, service delivery has continued to get worse.
In Brixton, Johannesburg, a long-promised water tower and reservoir that should have been completed months ago lies silent. Originally slated for April this year, then pushed to September, the contractor has now downed tools nonpayment-payment by the City of Johannesburg. Instead of easing pressure on surrounding suburbs, the project sits abandoned — a symbol of how poor contract management leaves communities vulnerable.
Further afield in Secunda, millions of rand was spent refurbishing municipal reservoirs, yet they remain non-operational. Residents live hand-to-mouth on direct feed from Rand Water’s pipeline with no local storage — one supply interruption leaves tens of thousands without water. In Carletonville, a major reservoir remains crippled despite costly repair projects over the years. The result: whole communities left vulnerable while “completed” projects deliver nothing.
These sites highlight a broader truth: many water projects fail not from lack of money, but from poor execution, cost overruns and corruption. Announcements are made, funds are spent, but taps still run dry.
Data from the department’s own Gauteng Water Security Dashboards makes clear how serious the situation has become.
As of August, Gauteng’s daily usage is nearly 20% above target levels, as metros consume too much, in part due to water lost before it reaches the taps. Johannesburg loses or fails to bill for nearly half of its drinkable water (at 48.4%), while Tshwane sits at 36.9%, its highest level ever. By international standards, anything above 25% is unacceptable.
These numbers reflect systemic failure by Gauteng municipalities. Instead of diligently fixing leaks and repairing infrastructure when there was time, losses keep rising while demand grows.
Increasing water supply capacity has also been a failure in Gauteng.
In the past decade, the only significant supply boost to Gauteng came from Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch Station 5A, which added 150-million litres per day in 2023. This was a major achievement — but this has already been swallowed by rising demand. When the president “launched” the station again in 2025, it was unfortunately a publicity exercise as no new capacity was added.
Beyond Station 5A, no measurable new bulk water has come online.
The result is a widening gap between demand and supply, with reservoirs for storage left dangerously low. Even though the Vaal Dam and upstream catchments are full after strong rains, that water is useless if we lack the treatment and delivery infrastructure to get it into homes and businesses.
The failures in Gauteng’s water system are not abstract. They translate directly into households without water for days, schools and clinics unable to function and businesses forced to shut down. In towns like Secunda and Carletonville, where reservoirs stand broken, people live constantly on the edge of water insecurity. We must refuse to live in this reality.
The problem is not always a lack of money. Too often, funds are allocated, contractors hired and projects announced — but poor management or outright corruption means the result delivers nothing. Maintenance has also been neglected. Skipped repairs have left reservoirs leaking, pumps breaking down, and pipelines collapsing. The false economy of cutting maintenance has turned into costly breakdowns that disrupt lives and waste even more water.
With South Africa being naturally water-scarce, the long-term solution was meant to be the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase 2, which has been riddled with countless delays. It was supposed to deliver water by 2019. Instead, completion is behind by nearly a decade, with water now expected only around 2028.
The cost has also ballooned from R8bn in 2008 to R53bn today. Each delay pushes back Gauteng and surrounding provinces back from narrowing their supply shortages. While water is meant to be flowing, oversight of the project has been woeful due to a turntable of top officials at the department of water & sanitation.
The DA has demanded a probe into this project, to ensure not a cent more of public funds goes down the drain.
The data is clear, the infrastructure failures visible, and the solutions known. What has been missing is the political will to prioritise water security above all else. That must change now. Gauteng cannot afford to run dry.
— DA spokesperson on water & sanitation Stephen Moore
To avoid an impending disaster this summer, there is still a window to act — but it requires urgency, transparency, and accountability.
- Real-time monitoring: Reservoir levels, leaks, and consumption vs targets should be tracked daily and published openly. Residents and industries must see the true state of supply and adjust behaviour accordingly.
- Emergency repairs: Dedicated rapid-response teams should be established to slash the backlog of leaks and broken pumps before summer heat drives demand higher.
- Accountability for projects: Stalled projects like the Brixton reservoir must be unblocked immediately. Completed-but-dysfunctional projects in Secunda and Carletonville need urgent rescue plans. Oversight must ensure money spent translates into working infrastructure.
- Demand management: Gauteng residents must reduce consumption. Public campaigns, stricter enforcement of bylaws and incentives to save water are essential. If we remain above target use, shortages are inevitable.
- Strategic oversight: Large-scale projects, from LHWP2 to Rand Water upgrades, must be managed with independent auditing and clear milestones. Without oversight, delays and overruns will continue.
This is not a problem for one minister, one municipality or one utility. It is a collective challenge. Gauteng is the economic heart of South Africa; if it stalls for lack of water, the consequences will be national.
The summer of 2024/25 already brought rolling outages. If nothing changes, the summer of 2025/26 could be far worse. But if government, utilities and communities act together with urgency, transparency and accountability, disaster can still be averted.
The data is clear, the infrastructure failures visible, and the solutions known. What has been missing is the political will to prioritise water security above all else. That must change now. Gauteng cannot afford to run dry.
* Stephen Moore is the DA's spokesperson on water & sanitation
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