Dry Taps: Frustration mounts as Midrand families enter day five without water
The daily search for water in Johannesburg has reshaped routines, strained neighbours and underscored how quickly a basic service failure can ripple through homes and health.
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
Residents across parts of Johannesburg, particularly Midrand, say five days without water have pushed households to the breaking point, expressing frustration with Johannesburg Water’s planning and communication.
Meanwhile, the maintenance operation has overrun its deadline.
The planned maintenance, linked to work by Rand Water, was scheduled to end early Tuesday.
Instead, taps remained dry well into the night, disrupting daily routines, shutting down small businesses and forcing families to queue for emergency water.
Johannesburg’s water infrastructure problems leave families without water, forcing many to rely on scarce and unreliable tankers.
Image: Itumeleng English/ Independent Newspapers
In Midrand areas such as Rabie Ridge, President Park and Ebony Park, residents described waking before dawn to hunt for tankers, only to wait hours in long lines.
Many left empty-handed when tankers ran dry.“It’s humiliating,” said Phala Maroba a resident in Kaalfontein.
“We plan our lives around water schedules, but the information keeps changing or comes too late.”
Mavis Malamulele also in Kaalfontein said the water outages have caused more damage than usual because “schools are closed and children are at home the whole time, without water.”
“Imagine now, especially during the festive season, you have other family members coming over for the holidays but there’s no water.
“It’s a very frustrating situation because the toilets, clothes and other things that need water will be a complete disaster,” she said.
The newly-installed boreholes to the rural communities of Langkloof and Sokhulumi have brought about much-needed relief from water shortages.
Image: Supplied/City of Tshwane
Johannesburg Water insisted supply has been restored citywide, but admitted Midrand remained the most affected.
The utility said critically low reservoir and tower levels are slowing recovery in a complex supply system.
According to the utility, President Park and Erand reservoirs are critically low or empty, while Rabie Ridge, Randjesfontein and Grand Central show limited recovery, with several towers still dry and pumps switched off.
Johannesburg Water said it was working with Rand Water to stabilise the system through controlled outlet management, balancing flows and releasing trapped air to prevent pipe bursts.
While stationary tanks and roaming tankers remain deployed, residents say the relief is inadequate.
Queues stretch for hours, tempers flare and some communities receive nothing before supplies run out.
Residents are now demanding clearer timelines, realistic planning and honest communication.
For many in Midrand, the outage has become more than a technical failure – it is a test of trust between a city and the people who depend on it.
Until taps run reliably again, residents say patience is wearing thin.
Water tankers are back in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni following the latest infrastructure maintenance by Rand Water.
Image: Independent Newspapers Archives
The daily search for water has reshaped routines, strained neighbours and underscored how quickly a basic service failure can ripple through homes and health.
This is despite Mayor Dada Morero promising residents that they would continue service delivery even after the G20 Leaders Summit.
The summit was held in Johannesburg last month and before its sitting, there was a visible service delivery operation across the region.
This sparked concerns among residents that the city was only availing resources for the G20 and nothing else.
But the Morero assured them that they would be provided with services.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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