Understanding Johannesburg's water crisis: Infrastructure failures and community impact
Image: File/ Timothy Bernard/ Independent Newspapers
Johannesburg, a sprawling metropolis that is home to over 5.5 million people, is grappling with severe water shortages that are affecting residents from all walks of life.
The situation has been exacerbated by a combination of failing infrastructure, ongoing maintenance issues, and the dire realities of climate change.
According to a 2025 report by Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, the city's water infrastructure is under immense pressure and fails to meet the growing demand. Frequent leaks, an ageing system, and the expansion of residential areas without corresponding upgrades in infrastructure are at the heart of the problem. Currently, Johannesburg is dealing with an estimated 2,300 burst water pipes, which only serves to intensify the crisis.
These are the affected areas.
Image: Rand Water
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In a recent maintenance alert, Johannesburg Water announced that Rand Water's maintenance activities would significantly reduce water supply in various parts of the city, notably affecting areas such as Steyn City, Diepsloot, Carlswald, and Kaalfontein from 15 to 18 July 2025.
This planned maintenance comes at a time when the City of Tshwane is also facing its own battles with water shortages due to reservoir maintenance, forcing residents to rely on roaming water tankers for their daily needs.
Climate change further complicates South Africa's water crisis. As noted by NuWater, changing rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, and increased evaporation rates significantly contribute to the nation's water scarcity.
The Department of Water and Sanitation has estimated that repairing and upgrading the nation's beleaguered infrastructure will cost an astounding R90 billion annually over the next decade.
The importance of water sources from the Limpopo, Inkomati, Pongola, and Orange River, as well as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, cannot be overstated, as they currently support about 70% of South Africa's gross domestic product.
Expert insights
Ferrial Adam, a water specialist who spoke exclusively to IOL, expressed concern about South Africa's management of its water resources.
"South Africa is a water scarce country, geographically we have half the average rainfall that is experienced in most parts of the world, but given that, but given this little water, we are still mismanaging it, we are polluting it, we are allowing it to be wasted."
Adam emphasised the necessity of a shared sense of responsibility between government and citizens, alongside a compelling call for increased budget allocations to address these pressing challenges.
Supporting the statement, Prof. Anja du Plessis, an Associate Professor and water management expert at Unisa, noted the alarming trends indicating an increase in water stress.
"South Africa is a water scarce country, with trends showing an increase in water stress due to a multitude of factors such as increased water demands outstripping available supply, continued water pollution and increased climate variability."
Du Plessis added that the unreliable water supply and the longer outages across the Gauteng metros are due to neglected municipal infrastructure. A stark illustration of this was the Vaal Dam, which may be sitting above 100% capacity, yet many areas still experience rampant water outages primarily linked to frequent pipe bursts and demand that exceeds available supply.
Water springing from a burst pipe at Cnr Bertha and Stiemens Streets in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. 16 July 2025
Image: Koketso Phasha/ IOL
Residents' experiences
IOL spoke to South Africans to get their thoughts on the water scarcity
Itumeleng Tlhabane, 27, from Pretoria said: "It is quite frustrating, because some of us live in rented rooms, we don't have large water storage capacity and the trucks often come when we are at work, leaving us with just enough water to cook, bath and do the dishes, none for laundry."
Tshapang Malesela, 22, from Schoonoord in Limpopo said: I don't recall the last time I saw a running tap, the taps in our village last ran when I was very young, we have since been relying on those who have boreholes to supply us with water at various costs, and the water is often very salty because we don't have money to get the cleaning chemicals.
Residents can log water related call to Johannesburg Water using fault@jwater.co.za
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