Overview
- Deputy President Paul Mashatile convened the Water Task Team, which is coordinating controlled system recovery and load shifting, deploying water tankers, and providing technical support to municipalities.
- Rand Water reports full capacity after late‑January pump faults and a major pipe burst, yet low reservoir levels continue to constrain distribution in Gauteng, especially Johannesburg.
- Government says supply should progressively stabilise over the coming week if consumption drops, and Mashatile plans a Johannesburg visit to monitor interventions.
- Deputy Minister David Mahlobo cautions that the system remains vulnerable and says long‑term infrastructure renewal and municipal capacity improvements are essential, noting limited relief from load shifting in parts of Pretoria and new treatment works due in the next two months.
- Residents in areas such as Melville, Westdene, Brixton and parts of Midrand report weeks without water, civil society group WaterCAN questions the efficacy of new committees, and officials point to R156 billion in planned public funding as broader estimates peg local infrastructure needs near R400 billion.