South Africa’s ongoing water crisis continues to affect communities across Gauteng, including Diepsloot, Fourways, and Midrand, with Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina blaming municipalities for failing to maintain water infrastructure and address critical technical skills shortages.
Her remarks follow widespread water supply interruptions, including a recent protest by Midrand residents who went six days without water after a pump motor exploded at the Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant — a key facility supplying water to parts of Gauteng.
Communities in Diepsloot and surrounding northern Johannesburg areas have also experienced recurring water outages, low pressure, and delayed repairs in recent months, raising concerns about infrastructure maintenance and municipal capacity.
According to Majodina, poor infrastructure maintenance, illegal connections, and water leaks remain major contributors to the country’s water supply challenges. She revealed that only 40 out of 257 municipalities have implemented recommendations from the Department of Water and Sanitation to repair leaks, improve billing systems, and disconnect illegal water connections.
The Minister further highlighted that about 56% of treated water is lost before reaching residents, mainly due to leaking pipes, aging infrastructure, poor maintenance, and a lack of technical expertise within municipalities.
“We have pointed out all those things to municipalities to say, whilst we have filled all your vacancies, critical and technical skills are not there in these municipalities. Hence, people go days, months, years without water because there is nobody attending to water infrastructure,” Majodina said.
In Diepsloot and nearby communities such as Cosmo City and Broadacres, residents have repeatedly raised concerns about water reliability, particularly during infrastructure breakdowns or maintenance periods. Local leaders say the situation affects households, schools, and small businesses that depend on consistent water supply.
The national water crisis has renewed calls for stronger coordination between municipalities, Rand Water, and the Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure reliable access to water in fast-growing communities north of Johannesburg.
As Gauteng’s population continues to grow, experts warn that infrastructure upgrades, technical skills development, and faster response to leaks and pipe bursts will be essential to prevent prolonged outages in communities like Diepsloot.
