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 and Meldene have endured approximately 14 days without water, while residents in Selby have experienced intermittent or no supply for close to five months.
The organisation has also noted that Midrand has been plunged into a new outage linked to bulk supply constraints.
“These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a fragile, poorly maintained system that cannot cope when failures occur, and paint a picture of a city-wide problem,” says WaterCAN’s executive director, Ferrial Adam.
“We acknowledge that the current crisis was triggered by an explosion at a pump station and a major leak at a Rand Water reservoir. We also recognise that Johannesburg Water is operating within an overstretched and deteriorating reticulation system. However, infrastructure failure does not excuse silence, institutional indifference, or the abdication of public accountability.”
Adam said Rand Water, the water service authority providing water to much of Gauteng, may be contracted to municipalities and believe to be only accountable to local government leaders and the national Minister of Water and Sanitation, but this should not absolve it of communicating directly with the public and civil society, as appears to be the case.
See our letter addressed to Mr Ntshaveni Mukwevho, Managing Director of Joburg Water
Meanwhile, Adam said Johannesburg Water, the water entity of the City of Johannesburg, has repeatedly failed to communicate consistently about the repeated failures in its ability to deliver reliable water to consumers.
“Civil society and residents are not peripheral stakeholders. They are the end users who bear the full social, economic, and health costs of these decisions. Excluding them from direct communication is unacceptable. We are calling on the Minister of Water and Sanitation to actively encourage Rand Water to engage directly with the public during periods of prolonged disruption and for the Mayor of Johannesburg to ensure the same for the city utility.”
WaterCAN urges both Rand Water and Johannesburg Water’s senior management to institute daily, time-bound public briefings accessible online.
“Transparent communication is not a nice-to-have. It is essential to maintaining public confidence, preventing panic, and ensuring accountability. Residents are not only angry because there is no water; they are angry because no one is explaining honestly and clearly what is going on,” said Adam.
Donate to WaterCAN
Across South Africa, WaterCAN’s volunteers and citizen scientists are monitoring drinking water and sanitation failures, uncovering risks, and demanding action from those responsible. We challenge polluters, call out government negligence, and stand with communities whose rights to safe water and sanitation are routinely violated. Your support keeps this watchdog work alive and powerful.
For Media Enquiries contact WaterCAN Communications Manager on Jonathan Erasmus 073 227 6075 or email media@watercan.org.za.
