News

Five days without water for Joburg’s most vulnerable is unacceptable, says WaterCAN

WaterCAN has condemned the City of Johannesburg after residents of Nana’s Farm, Phumla Mqashi and Water Works, all informal settlements in the city, were left without water for five days.

The organisation said activists in the affected communities reported that there had been no regular tanker deliv...

18.03.2026 11:50:05

WaterCAN mobilises over 150 schools across South Africa for 2026 Schools Water Testing Week

WaterCAN will host its 2026 Schools Water Testing Week from 16 to 20 March 2026, bringing together 158 schools across all nine provinces in a coordinated citizen science campaign aimed at promoting safer drinking water, stronger water awareness and greater accountability in schools.

The initiative bu...

16.03.2026 12:16:49

BLOODWORMS IN TAP WATER: Marakong Village, QwaQwa residents fall ill as community left without water

More than one hundred families in Marakong Village, QwaQwa, are facing a serious public health emergency after live bloodworms were reported and then confirmed in water flowing from household taps.

After receiving multiple complaints from residents, Free State water activists working closely with Wat...

20.02.2026 15:22:05

Johannesburg Water needs urgent national intervention, says WaterCAN

WaterCAN has learned that Rand Water, the bulk water supplier to Johannesburg, is preparing to exercise its option to demand a three months’ deposit of about R2.5 to R2.7 billion. This is about a billion Rand more than Johannesburg Water’s Capital Expenditure Budget and is the result of repeated mi...

20.02.2026 08:22:19

No more promises: South Africa’s water crisis needs timelines, transparency and consequences

WaterCAN notes that President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed water security and the criminality that thrives when taps run dry on the national agenda during the 2026 State of the Nation Address. This focus reflects years of sustained pressure from communities, civil society and activists across South A...

13.02.2026 09:42:59

WaterCAN welcomes Presidency’s recognition of Joburg crisis; demands disaster declaration

WaterCAN welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to urgently deploy the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, to intervene in Johannesburg’s escalating water crisis - even at the cost ...

12.02.2026 15:04:46

The Peoples’ Water Forum demands an investigation into Soshanguve protest shooting

The People’s Water Forum condemns in the strongest possible terms the shooting of Soshanguve residents with rubber bullets while they were protesting the lack of water in their community.

Residents in Soshanguve have reportedly been without water for two weeks. Across Gauteng, dry taps over days and...

12.02.2026 15:04:46

Johannesburg Living Day Zero as WaterCAN Calls for Water Crisis Declaration

Johannesburg is facing a widespread and escalating water crisis, with residents across the city effectively living under Day Zero conditions as failures by Johannesburg Water and Rand Water continue unchecked, says WaterCAN.

Communities in Kensington, Emmarentia, Meldene, and many other areas fed b...

09.02.2026 13:51:36

Johannesburg trapped in a cycle of water crises and poor communication says WaterCAN

Large parts of Johannesburg have been without reliable water for weeks and, in some cases, months - only exacerbated by poor communication from all the responsible government agencies, says WaterCAN.

WaterCAN, a national water advocacy non-profit organisation, has found that, communities in Melville...

03.02.2026 10:56:43

Dysfunctional wasterwater treatment works across eThekwini to blame for beach closures, says WaterCAN.

Durban beaches will likely continue to face sporadic closures until the fundamental problem - repairing and restoring the city’s failing wastewater treatment network - is properly resolved, says WaterCAN.

WaterCAN, along with its partners Save Our Rivers and Sea from Sewage (SORFS) and Adopt-a-River...

21.12.2025 14:32:17