Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has approved a temporary increase in water abstraction by Rand Water to stabilise Gauteng’s strained municipal water systems (DWS/X)
Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has approved a temporary increase in water abstraction by Rand Water to stabilise Gauteng’s strained municipal water systems after weeks of widespread disruptions.
The decision allows the utility to temporarily abstract additional water from the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) for four months, from February to June this year.
The emergency approval follows failures at key Rand Water pump stations and infrastructure late last month that sharply reduced treated water supply to municipalities across Gauteng.
Between 27 January and 1 February, electro-mechanical failures at the Palmiet and Zuikerbosch pump stations, together with a major pipe burst at the Klipfontein reservoir, caused Rand Water’s supply to drop well below its normal output of about 5 000 million litres a day.
Although repairs were completed quickly and full supply was restored by 4 February, the interruption had drained many municipal reservoirs, particularly in high-lying areas.
Low-lying suburbs were less affected but large parts of Gauteng experienced days of little or no water as depleted reservoirs struggled to recover. The situation was worsened by an early-February heatwave which drove up water consumption in areas that were receiving supply, slowing the recovery of municipal distribution systems.
In response, Majodina and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, alongside provincial and municipal leaders, agreed on a package of short-term stabilisation measures.
These include accelerated leak repairs and pipe replacements, the removal of illegal connections, fast-tracking municipal water infrastructure projects, controlled pressure management, load-shifting between systems and the enforcement of level-two water restrictions.
Daily coordination was under way between Rand Water and Gauteng municipalities, with the bulk supplier also providing direct technical support, including assistance to refurbish water treatment works in Tshwane and reduce priority leaks, the department of water and sanitation said.
Despite gradual improvement, reservoir levels in some areas remain under pressure. Therefore, Majodina approved Rand Water’s urgent application for additional abstraction from the IVRS to speed up recovery.
The approval allows a temporary increase of 200 million cubic metres a year above Rand Water’s allocation of 1 803 million cubic metres.
The department said the decision followed a detailed hydrological assessment, noting that the IVRS — a network of 14 interlinked dams — was under strain and could not support permanent increases in abstraction without risking severe shortages during droughts.
It emphasised that the additional abstraction was a short-term emergency measure, not a long-term fix for Gauteng’s water problems. Permanently increasing abstraction would be “irresponsible” and could have serious consequences during future dry cycles.
The minister reiterated that municipalities remained central to resolving the crisis. Local governments were expected to ring-fence revenue from water sales, reduce non-revenue water, upgrade ageing infrastructure and pursue partnerships with the private sector to unlock funding for capital projects.
Majodina was expected to convene Gauteng municipalities to reinforce the urgency of the measures, the department said.
Longer-term solutions lay in structural reforms under the Water Services Amendment Bill currently before parliament and national treasury’s metropolitan trading services reform programme, which aimed to professionalise municipal water services and ensure clearer accountability.
The department said it had also directed municipalities to insource water tankering services where needed and to expand groundwater use responsibly. Additional technical support from the national government would be deployed if required.
Majodina urged water users in unaffected areas to comply strictly with municipal water restrictions to support system recovery.