​Thembisa Shologu
In response to ongoing water supply challenges, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has announced measures to stabilise its water systems, set to take effect on 14 November. These interventions will remain in place until water supply systems have fully recovered.
Addressing a joint media briefing on Monday in Johannesburg, Minister for Water and Sanitation (DWS) Pemmy Majodina announced that water supply would be throttled between 9 pm and 4 am daily to allow reservoir levels to replenish overnight. 
Minister Majodina attributed the water disturbances in Johannesburg to peak demand levels that occasionally exceed Rand Water's available supply.
"Implementing advanced pressure management systems, including installing 45 Smart Pressure Controllers, in addition to the 15 which have been refurbished and retrofitted to date. 
"This is aimed at reducing water losses at night when demand is low, which will substantially reduce water losses," said Majodina. 
She cited the demand for water in Johannesburg, which has grown and continues to grow due to economic and population growth, which DWS anticipated as far back as the 1980s. 
To address this, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) has been supplying additional water from the Katse and Mohale dams in Lesotho, helping meet the city's growing demand.
"The demand-supply relationship for treated water in Johannesburg is very tight, and the system is vulnerable to disturbances caused by electro-mechanical breakdowns or spikes in demand caused by heatwaves.
"To ensure a continuous, reliable water supply to users even in drought, DWS limits the amount of raw water that Rand Water can abstract annually from the Integrated Vaal River System. The limit is currently 1802 million cubic metres of water per annum," she explained. 
The City of Johannesburg plans to reduce the leaks in its water distribution network and complete its current reservoirs and pumping station projects to make its water distribution system more resilient to electro-mechanical breakdowns or spikes in demand. 
The 2023 No Drop report issued by DWS found that Johannesburg lost 35% of its water supply-significantly above the international standard of 15%.
Emergency measures include hiring additional contractors for extensive pipe repairs and increasing the number of response teams on standby. 
The city aims to improve repair times for leaks and burst pipes from 48 to 24 hours. It has intensified leak detection efforts, which have already reduced water demand by an estimated 9 457 million litres annually.
CoJ Executive Mayor Dada Morero said the city's water loss rate was above 40%, driven by an ageing infrastructure and illegal connections. 
"We decided to prioritise water infrastructure and pump more resources into our adjustment budget in January to help us. We are also looking at other funding models and instruments that will assist us in funding the water infrastructure because now it has become more urgent than ever," Moreno explained. 
Morero said that the city was working hard to ensure enough water by investing in reservoirs, which would also require money.
In addition, the city will examine the 2025/26 budget to determine whether it can invest in the delipidating infrastructure.
"One of the biggest problems we have is our reservoirs; 45 need to be in a better state. It will require us to spend additional money to deal with our reservoirs. We are now sitting at about 11, which we are busy with, and we have invested some money to repair those reservoirs.
"We are also looking at other funding models and instruments that will assist us in funding the water infrastructure because now it has become more urgent than ever," said Morero. 
Premier Panyaza Lesufi underscored the importance of the user-pay principle, stating that the provincial government is developing an indigent register for municipalities to ensure that only those unable to pay receive subsidised services.
"If everyone using water is paying for water, our challenges will be minimal, but if there are people using water and are not paying for it, it creates serious problems. 
"This is a critical task that we are trying to manage to assist municipalities to protect those that cannot afford to pay. 
"The message to the residents of Gauteng is simple: we have to reduce water consumption at a faster pace; if we cannot do that, the system will not be able to carry us for a longer period," warned Lesufi.