South Africans Not Convinced by Joburg Water’s Day Zero Assurance

• Residents have been assured by Joburg Water that the city is safe from a day zero scenario, with dams currently near capacity
• The utility gave an update on water supply conditions during a media briefing held on Friday, 5 September 2025
• Joburg Water announced that certain areas would continue to face water throttling to manage high demand

With dams almost full, Joburg Water has assured residents that the city faces no immediate risk of a day zero.

What did Joburg Water say?

At a media briefing on Friday, 5 September 2025, Joburg Water updated the public on the status of the water supply and its infrastructure plans, noting that some areas would still face throttling to control high demand.

Residents were urged by Director Ntshavheni Mukwevho to reduce their water consumption. He explained that while there is sufficient purified water entering the system, the demand for potable water currently exceeds the system’s capacity, reaching levels that are not sustainable in the long term.

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What did South Africans say?

Social media users had mixed reactions regarding the water situation.

@TC_and_Hounds said:

"There is a massive sewage leak on the West side of the Braamfontein Spruit between Ballyclaire and Peter Place. It is flooding into the river."

@FMRT11 said:

"Blame is purely on the @CityofJoburgZA and it's lack of administration. The continued approval of student accommodation being built is adding pressure to an already strained system. If proper planning was done and upgrades before approval we wouldn't have these issues."

@africanscribe said:

"The Entity’s statement is entirely devoid of any apology for the tens of thousands of people without water for 7 days due to reservoir failure at Berea and Alexander Park. If construction on Brixton is completed in October, I’ll eat my hat."

@mmboswo said:

"But you close the taps every Tuesday."

@SimfumeneS said:

"Day Zero not needed anyway. We have water shedding everyday for more than 12 hours."

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@1RadioFan said:

"Day zero njhani when the vaal dam is 106% full?"

@StadenJeanette said:

"There is an ongoing leak now for a month Hans Pirow Rd corner Marcia Street Bruma. It has been reported numerous times."

@WaterCrisisJHB said:

"Malvern, Johannesburg - NOW. Deny Water, Deny Humanity."

@LizSambridge said:

"Joburg Water do you actually know what is happening in Kensington Malvern Bruma Cyrildene right now - just to name a few Alexander Park is not supplying water to the residents we are suffering every day every minute and every hour - so something now disaster about to happen."

Residents on edge amid looming 48-hour Joburg Water supply outage

In another article, Briefly News reported that taps will dry in numerous suburbs across Johannesburg amid planned water disruptions from Tuesday, 12 November 2024. Joburg Water said it was shutting off the taps to conduct essential maintenance work, affecting consumers in Soweto and other suburbs.

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In the meantime, water tankers will be deployed to the affected areas to provide temporary relief. Joburg Water provided several system updates, which Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero shared on his X page.

Source: Briefly News