Joburg Water is rolling out water tankers and stationary tanks.
A major electrical failure at Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant has plunged large parts of Johannesburg, Tshwane, and surrounding areas into a water crisis that could last until the weekend.
The extent of the outage could affect millions of residents across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the North West provinces.
According to Joburg Water, the crisis began on 26 January 2026, when an emergency pump repair was required at the Palmiet Pump Station, but escalated dramatically the following day when a motor explosion and power failure occurred in Engine Room 4 at the Zuikerbosch Plant, disrupting pumping across multiple systems.
Widespread impact across Johannesburg
Johannesburg Water confirmed on Wednesday evening that its systems are experiencing severe supply constraints due to the electrical failure.
“This has led to poor to no water supply to a number of Johannesburg Water reservoirs, particularly affecting areas within Midrand, Sandton and parts of Johannesburg Central,” the utility said.
The most affected areas include Sandton suburbs such as:
- Bryanston and Illovo
Midrand communities, including:
- Grand Central,
- President Park,
- Rabie Ridge,
- Diepsloot and
- Steyn City
Additionally, Johannesburg Central areas such as:
- Yeoville,
- Berea,
- South Hills Pump Station,
- Alexander Park,
- Hurst Hill and
- Linksfield
“Although these systems are empty or critically low, other areas may also experience intermittent impacts and are being closely monitored,” Joburg Water stated.
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Critical reservoir levels across multiple systems
System updates released by Joburg Water throughout Wednesday evening revealed the severity of the crisis across five major systems.
In the Midrand system at 9:15pm, the Erand Reservoir was critically low with its outlet closed, while both the Grand Central Reservoir and Tower were supplying fairly but declining, with poor pressure expected.
The Rabie Ridge Reservoir and Tower were both critically low, with poor pressure and no water expected, while the Diepsloot Reservoir was critically low, with its outlet closed.
Moreover, the Sandton system, updated at 9:50pm, showed both the Illovo Reservoir and Tower as critically low, with pumping suspended and pressure at zero, with no water expected.
The Bryanston Tower was also critically low with pumping suspended, while the Bryanston Reservoir was supplying fairly but declining. The Randjieslaagte Reservoir was reported as critically low, with no water expected due to poor pressure.
At 10pm, the Central system was critically low, with no water expected in the Alexander Park and Berea reservoirs.
The South Hills Tower was critically low, with no pumping due to poor incoming supply, while the Yeoville Reservoir was supplying fairly low, with poor pressure expected.
The system ranged from constrained to critically low, with some areas receiving poor pressure to no water.
The Commando system update at 9:55pm showed the Brixton Reservoir under overnight closure, with the Brixton Tower experiencing no pumping overnight.
Both Hursthill reservoirs were on bypass, with poor pressure expected in certain parts.
The Deep South system at 10:10pm was described as under pressure due to high demand, tempering, and illegal connections.
The Orange Farm, Lawley, Lenasia Hospital Hill, and Lenasia High Level reservoirs were all under overnight closure to build capacity, while the Ennerdale Reservoir was low with poor pressure expected.
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Timeline of the crisis
Rand Water initially notified Johannesburg Water on 26 January of the emergency pump set repair at the Palmiet Pump Station, with an estimated completion time of 27 January.
However, on the afternoon of 27 January, the situation deteriorated when a power trip occurred at the Zuikerbosch Plant.
According to Johannesburg Water, repairs to the Palmiet pump set were completed on the evening of 27 January, while partial repairs to the electrical control board at Zuikerbosch Plant were completed on the morning of 28 January.
“This has enabled Rand Water to partially resume pumping from Zuikerbosch into the Palmiet system while permanent repairs continue,” the utility said.
“As a result, Johannesburg Water’s systems remain impacted, and Rand Water has not yet provided an estimated time of completion for the permanent repairs.”
Recovery expected by Sunday
Daniel Schay, Shadow Member of Mayoral Committee for Development Planning and Ward 72 Councillor, provided a stark assessment of the situation following a briefing with Joburg Water on Wednesday evening.
He indicated that recovery could take days, noting that some areas had been without water for three days before his ward was affected.
“What they said without saying, they said that the greatest impact will probably be tomorrow morning,” Schay stated.
Furthermore, he revealed that officials indicated the weekend as the target for recovery from the water crisis.
“Their answer for the whole city, not just for our particular reservoir, they said at the weekend, meaning Sunday is when they expect to have a decent recovery,” he said.
Schay warned residents to brace for an extended outage. “I don’t think you’re going to see water tomorrow. We can probably start discussing seeing water on Friday if everything goes well for us. But again, they’ve given themselves till Sunday non-committal for the whole city,” he stated.
Political accountability questioned
The councillor delivered sharp criticism of provincial leadership, claiming that systemic issues at pump stations remain unresolved despite earlier assurances.
“The reason why you don’t have water is that Panyaza Lesufi lied at his state of the province last year when he implied that he was rectifying the power issues plaguing the pump stations in our systems. What he did was a quick fix for that particular outage. The systemic issues that relate to it have not been solved,” Schay said.
He also criticised the absence of city leadership during the crisis. “With two-thirds of the city not having water, where is he? Where’s the guy responsible for providing us? He said nothing. The mayor said nothing. It’s just absent leadership,” Schay stated.
Provincial impact extends to Tshwane
The City of Tshwane confirmed on Wednesday that the motor failure has halted bulk water supply through the Palmiet system, which supplies most parts of the capital city.
“The Palmiet system supplies most parts of Tshwane, and the disruption is therefore having a widespread impact,” said the municipality.
Tshwane officials indicated that several affected systems continue to decline, with some reservoirs already empty.
“The current situation remains unchanged, as Rand Water continues with repair work at the plant. At this stage, there is still no confirmed estimated time of completion,” the city stated.
It added that once recovery begins, it will take time for the system to refill and for pressure to build up in the pipelines.
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Calls for infrastructure resilience
DA MP Stephen Moore highlighted on social media platform that Rand Water has confirmed pumping has resumed at approximately 75% capacity, with booster stations particularly affected.
“Low water pressure and water outages are likely to spread as reservoirs drop. Recovery can be slow and uneven, especially in high-lying areas and neighbourhoods at the end of the network,” Moore warned.
He called for greater accountability from national authorities.
“I’m pressing for regular, centralised public updates and for the minister and DWS to enforce resilience standards at nationally critical infrastructure like Zuikerbosch, including proper redundancy and backup power,” Moore said.
Emergency response measures
Joburg Water said it has activated contingency measures to mitigate the impact on customers, including communicating with stakeholders and briefing councillors at 7pm on 28 January.
The utility is implementing a phased rollout of water tanking interventions, including water tankers and stationary tanks.
“Operational measures are also in place, such as closing reservoir outlets at critical low levels to preserve capacity, implementing night and day throttling and temporary closures to support recovery, and bleeding air from recovering systems to prevent pipe bursts.”
“Key support staff and management teams remain on standby to coordinate water tanking and address operational requirements,” Joburg Water confirmed.
Schay noted that while tankers are being deployed, with one already positioned in Orange Grove, the response remains limited.
“We’re going to be relying on tankers for at least 24 hours,” he said.
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