Rand Water outage exposes Gauteng’s vulnerable water supply

7 November 2024

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is alarmed at the ongoing water outages in Gauteng, which have impacted millions of residents in Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni.

This crisis, triggered by a single technical fault at Rand Water’s Palmiet Pump Station, has exposed the province’s vulnerability in the province’s water infrastructure, revealing just how water-insecure our communities are.

Reports from Johannesburg Water originally claimed that an Eskom power failure led to a disruption in Rand Water’s systems. However, Eskom clarified that the fault was due to a damaged circuit breaker at Rand Water’s Palmiet Pump Station.

Rand Water’s silence on this matter has left millions of residents both in the dark, and with dry taps.

This lack of transparency from Rand Water is deeply concerning. The public deserves to know the full truth of the situation. The fact that a pump station operating at only 80% capacity for less than a day can lead to such widespread outages signals a grave problem. We simply do not have the necessary infrastructure resilience to endure even minor disruptions.

The current outage underscores the broader Gauteng Water Crisis. With insufficient reserves stored in municipal reservoirs, our municipalities are unable to cushion residents against short-term interruptions, let alone long-term challenges. The situation is dire, and urgent attention is required to address the longstanding failures in maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure. Gauteng’s reservoir levels and water management systems are simply unprepared to handle these pressures.

The DA calls on Rand Water to communicate clearly and transparently with the public on the cause of these disruptions and to take immediate steps to improve the resilience of their infrastructure. We further call on the Gauteng municipalities to prioritise infrastructure maintenance and water resource management to protect residents from future outages.

Gauteng cannot afford to ignore its water infrastructure needs any longer. The continued neglect of essential maintenance leaves millions vulnerable to outages that disrupt daily life, health, and business. The residents of Gauteng deserve a reliable water supply, and it’s time for Rand Water, municipalities, and the national government to take decisive action.

We will continue to hold Rand Water and Gauteng municipalities accountable and will advocate for a sustainable and resilient approach to water management in Gauteng to prevent crises of this nature in the future.

Issued by Stephen Moore, DA Deputy Spokesperson on Water and Sanitation, 7 November 2024