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30 percent of water in Gauteng is lost to leaks.
Large parts of Joburg have been without water for more than a week. Picture: iStock
As the City of Johannesburg navigates the challenge of the water crisis, the city speaker, Nobuhle Mthembu, has revealed that 30 percent of water in Gauteng is lost to leaks.
Large parts of Joburg have been without water for more than a week due to high demand and infrastructure issues.
Residents have been grappling with outages, leaving them frustrated.
Water leaks
The leaks, with the growing population, mean dire consequences for the city of gold.
Mthembu told eNCA the water leakage is concerning.
“This is not the first time it comes up. If you look at our province, 30 percent of water goes unaccounted for. That’s the leaks we have. We had a meeting with Johannesburg Water about this leaks with the MMC.
“I feel that’s the jurisdiction of the executive, especially the MMC for EISD (Environment and Infrastructure Services Department). But from our side, the legislature did brief us on this, and we do create a platform where our residents can interact with that. One of the cries of the residents is that we are not accessible,” Mthembu said.
Mthembu said the legislature creates the platform where public representatives can speak to the residents they serve.
30 percent of water in Gauteng is lost to leaks. That's according to Johannesburg Speaker, Nobuhle Mthembu. That — combined with a growing population — means dire consequences for the City of Gold. #dstv403 Click on the link for the full interview: https://t.co/MFhEXEBcJo pic.twitter.com/mdBhtHvitS
— eNCA (@eNCA) February 15, 2025
ALSO READ: Johannesburg High Court closed due to water shortage
Restoration
Meanwhile, Joburg mayor Dada Morero has vowed to restore the supply in seven days.
“We are probably sitting at about 60% of Joburg that is affected, [sitting] without water, and we believe that in the next seven days, we would have resolved the supply.”
Tankers
Morero said water tankers have been provided as a temporary solution to the crisis.
“We will increase the tankers; we are sitting on about 53 tankers throughout to supply the affected areas.
“It’s not sufficient, and even the tankers are not sufficient because they also still have to go back to fill, which takes longer for them to come back and provide water. So, it means that we have to increase from the 53 so that we can supply water,” Morero said.
Maintenance
The city has a maintenance backlog with an estimated cost of R27 billion.
Morero acknowledged the ageing infrastructure issues and said the city has been in talks with National Treasury to find solutions to raise the necessary capital.
ALSO READ: At least 60% of Johannesburg without water: Mayor promises restoration in seven days
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