Johannesburg residents are stepping up pressure on the municipality as dry taps disrupt daily life across several suburbs, leaving households scrambling for supplies and raising fears over how vulnerable people will cope in summer heat.

The concerns were brought to Johannesburg Water’s attention during a protest outside its Newtown offices on November 2, where residents, activists from WaterCAN, JoburgCAN and Johannesburg Crisis Alliance handed over a memorandum of demands to the entity.

The demonstration followed earlier protests in Crosby, Melville and Parktown, as communities continue to call for a dependable water supply and answers from the entity.

Read more: Johannesburg Water cites infrastructure decay and theft for Melville dry taps

For Parktown West resident Clive Hardwick, the situation has become a daily struggle. He said some residents in the suburb had gone without a reliable water supply for 12 weeks.

Hardwick said residents had been forced to find alternative ways of securing water, with some buying supplies from tankers operating in the area.

Without a reliable supply, ordinary household activities have become difficult. Residents have had to wash using buckets and collect water to flush their toilets.

He said there were occasional periods when water returned to some taps, sometimes between midnight and 03:00, forcing residents to make use of the supply whenever it became available.

Summer heatwave fears mount

Hardwick said the prospect of prolonged water shortages during hot weather was particularly worrying.

Also read: Mayfair, Crosby residents push back after days without water

He pointed to the vulnerability of elderly residents, including his 93-year-old next-door neighbour, and questioned how people without a dependable supply would cope during a heatwave.

Hardwick stressed that the problem extended beyond Parktown West, noting that residents from different parts of Johannesburg had joined the protest.

He said households with young children were also among those affected, adding that access to clean water was essential and could not be treated as an optional service.

In a response provided to the publication on October 21, JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala attributed the supply challenges to several factors, including ageing infrastructure, underfunding, limited financial and human resources, theft and vandalism.

She also cited population growth, illegal connections, non-payment and electricity interruptions affecting the pumping of water to reservoirs and towers.

Shabalala said revenue from water services was used to operate, maintain and upgrade the city’s water infrastructure, while the entity worked with the city to address theft and vandalism.

At the November 2 protest, JW executive manager for Stakeholder Relations and Communications Nondumiso Mabuza received the memorandum from the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA), which outlined the residents’ demands.

Mabuza said the entity would communicate further with the community.

Residents, meanwhile, continue to call for a reliable water supply, warning that the impact of prolonged shortages will become more serious as temperatures rise.

The publication sent JW questions on November 2 regarding concerns raised by communities over the latest demonstration at its offices; the response will be updated once received.

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates!