Rand Water has commenced the third and final phase of its planned maintenance programme, bringing a 54-hour water shutdown to several parts of Johannesburg. The interruption, which began this week, is expected to affect areas including Roodepoort, Fleurhof, Doornkop, Meadowlands and Braamfischerville.
Johannesburg Water has cautioned residents that while the shutdown is scheduled to last just over two days, the full recovery of the water system could take as long as seven days. Consumers have been urged to store water ahead of time and to use available supplies sparingly to reduce pressure on the system once water restoration begins.
The maintenance forms part of Rand Water’s broader efforts to stabilise and improve the reliability of the bulk water supply network, which has been under severe strain due to ageing infrastructure and rising demand.
Civil society organisation WaterCan has welcomed the maintenance intervention, describing it as necessary but long overdue. However, the group has raised serious concerns about persistent underinvestment in water infrastructure across the city.
WaterCan’s Communications Manager, Jonathan Erasmus, says Johannesburg is facing a massive infrastructure backlog estimated at R33 billion. According to Erasmus, the city would need to invest at least R3 billion annually to address the deterioration of its water systems, yet current spending sits at approximately R1.6 billion per year.
Erasmus also highlighted that many municipalities are failing to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act, which requires local governments to allocate around 8% of their total investment budgets to repairs and maintenance.
“The underinvestment in maintenance has been systemic and stretches back nearly two decades,” Erasmus said. “While the current maintenance work is absolutely necessary, it is happening far too late. Still, it is better that some intervention is taking place now than none at all.”
As Johannesburg continues to grapple with recurring water outages, experts warn that without sustained and adequate investment in infrastructure maintenance, residents are likely to face continued disruptions well into the future.
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