Joburg, Tshwane face growing water shortages as demand surges

Mapaballo Borotho

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero says the City plans to remodel its financial structures to ring-fence funding for key service entities like Johannesburg Water and City Power.
This comes after weeks of water disruptions that sparked protests in communities such as Coronationville and Westbury.
The City also confirmed additional water tankers will be deployed, while Tshwane faces similar shortages due to high consumption.

The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero, says the City plans to remodel its financial structures to ring-fence funding for service entities such as Johannesburg Water and City Power.

Morero was briefing the media on Monday morning at the Alexandra Park Reservoir in Kensington, where residents have also been experiencing water disruptions.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero is set to update the public today about the City’s water provision crisis.

Morero’s media briefing follows protests around the city over ongoing disruptions.

There have also been calls for Morero to resign should water not be restored to impacted… pic.twitter.com/V5sDccKwoP

— Kaya News (@KayaNews) September 15, 2025

His remarks follow protests last week in Coronationville and Westbury, where frustrated residents took to the streets over ongoing water shortages that disrupted motorists and taxi operations.

At the briefing, Morero acknowledged that the City spends billions of rands on Johannesburg Water, a cost he described as normal under the current governance model, where the entity is funded through the collection of rates.

However, concerns were raised in Parliament over the City’s use of R4 billion meant for Johannesburg Water, which left the entity unable to pay certain contractors.

Morero admitted to the use of funds but emphasised that the City intends to shift to a new model that safeguards essential service budgets.

In the meantime, as disruptions persist in parts of the city, the Mayor announced that more water tankers will be deployed to affected areas.

Johannesburg is not the only city grappling with a water crisis in Gauteng.

The City of Tshwane has also warned residents of looming shortages, citing excessively high water consumption in Pretoria.

If this trend continues, Tshwane cautioned, residents may face severe water cuts or completely dry taps during the upcoming hot season.