Jo'burg Declares Water War as Taps Stay Dry

Johannesburg is experiencing widespread and repeated water outages across the city, leaving residents without running water for days at a time in what civil society groups describe as a deepening urban crisis.

Water advocacy organisation WaterCAN has framed the situation in stark terms, saying, “In Johannesburg, people are already living Day Zero.”

Recent official communications from the city’s administration acknowledge severe strain within the network. The city has stated that it is dealing with “critically low reservoirs, low supply, declining pressure and, in many cases, complete outages, for days or weeks.”

Residents in Midrand, in the north of the city, reported nearly six consecutive days without water before protest action erupted. One resident described the human toll, saying, “It’s terrible. I’ve got elderly parents. They’re both in their late 80s. How do I clean them? How do I wash them?” Although Rand Water said that “systems have fully recovered and pumping is at full capacity,” supply in parts of the area remained unstable as reservoirs struggled to rebuild pressure.

The city rejects the characterisation that Johannesburg is reaching total system failure. In its most recent response it said, “We want to state clearly and unequivocally: Johannesburg is not at Day Zero. Johannesburg continues to receive and distribute water across the city.” It has defended temporary water shut-offs as protective measures, stating, “Localised interruptions and pressure management do not mean the system has failed. They are necessary steps to protect reservoirs and maintain broader supply across the city.”

At the same time, the city has acknowledged that an unprotected strike at Johannesburg Water, the city’s municipal provider, earlier this month “placed further strain on the system.” The labour action, which external reports and union statements linked to a dispute over performance bonuses, began last Thursday and ended on Monday, after which the city said normal operations resumed.

It has since announced the establishment of an “Intergovernmental Water War Room” that it says is “actively monitoring the system in real time, coordinating technical responses, accelerating repairs, and implementing demand-management measures to stabilise supply and protect critical infrastructure.”

Since 2018, Johannesburg has repeatedly turned to “war rooms” to confront service failures.

The Inner City Rejuvenation Task Team was created in 2018 to tackle hijacked buildings and urban decay, yet large parts of the central business district remain blighted. In 2019, an Electricity War Room was formed to respond to load-shedding and cable theft, but power instability continued. Also in 2019, a Service Delivery War Room was launched to fix refuse backlogs, potholes, and infrastructure collapse, though complaints persisted. A Revenue and Billing War Room followed in 2020 to address billing chaos and revenue shortfalls, with disputes still common. An Infrastructure War Room was announced in 2021 to accelerate repairs across water, roads, and electricity networks, yet maintenance backlogs deepened. In 2024, a Water War Room was set up amid repeated outages linked to Johannesburg Water, and in 2025 it was rebranded as an Intergovernmental Water War Room. The pattern is clear: each structure was meant to fix a crisis, but few have delivered solutions.

For South Africa’s economic hub, the inability to guarantee continuous access to clean running water across major suburbs represents one of the most serious governance challenges the city has ever faced.

The issue will be central to forthcoming local government elections, due within the next twelve months. Earlier this week The Common Sense covered a campaign stop by Democratic Alliance (DA) mayoral candidate for Johannesburg Helen Zille “swimming” in a “lake” caused by a burst water pipe. Polls show that the DA is leading the African National Congress in the city.