Dry taps, leaking pipes and a strike are just some of the bungles that have contributed to Joburg’s latest water woes as the city teeters on the brink of day zero.
Even a new “lake” is forming due to a massive leak.
The current crisis is a far cry from the city’s tagline, “World-class African City.”
This comes as residents plan protests in various parts of the city, including Melville, Parktown West, Mayfair, Greenside, Parkview, and Emmarentia, which have been without water for nearly 20 days.
Johannesburg Water on Monday said its central systems remain constrained due to poor incoming supply and increased demand.
Strike
On Tuesday, Johannesburg Water confirmed that a strike by some of its workers over unpaid bonuses had ended.
The strike came as the City of Johannesburg battled a widespread and escalating water crisis, with residents across the city “effectively living under day zero conditions.”
The protest action led by workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) was deemed unprotected.
ALSO READ: Joburg residents ‘effectively living under day zero conditions’
Water fights
In several areas, residents queue for hours at water tankers, only to find supplies run out before everyone can collect water.
Reports indicate that people are beginning to fight among themselves as some residents take far more water than others, leaving families, the elderly and children with nothing.
Linbro Park Lake
Meanwhile, major water leaks across Johannesburg continue to persist.
On Monday, Johannesburg DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille shared a video on her Instagram account in which she is seen sitting on the edge of a massive hole, cooling her legs in a pool of water from a burst pipe.
‘Lekker summer day’
In the post, Zille speaks about the “lake” on 1st Avenue in Linbro Park, where millions of litres of water were gushing from a pipe and down the street.
“It’s a really lekker summer day in Joburg, I thought I’d take some time off and relax at the dam, not,” Zille said.
“This is fresh, clean drinking water being wasted running down the street and creating this lake over here, which is really deep. I am just sitting at the edge of it.”
“Joburg municipality wastes millions of litres of water every day while communities have dry taps,” the post read.
‘Throttling’
She said that while Rand Water was “throttling” its supply due to “overconsumption”, Johannesburg Water claimed that the average resident in Johannesburg uses twice as much water as international residents.
“I don’t believe this for a minute,” she said in the post.
ALSO READ: Lies detected: Taps run dry while dams overflow
Blaming residents
Zille said the high consumption was due to millions of litres of water being lost to “waste, leaks and bad infrastructure.”
Speaking about the burst pipe, Zille said that before Johannesburg Water blames residents for their water use, it should fix its infrastructure.
Mbaks water inspection
On Tuesday, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mabalula addressed the issue of the burst water pipes in Homestead Road, Bryanston, in the City of Johannesburg.
“Upon receiving complaints the city acted to switch of the flow of water as not to waste any of the drinking water. The reason for this is that the municipal workers are currently striking, thus the slow maintenance.
“I have come personally to make sure that the issue is fixed and that chance takers do not distort this and use it as a political scoring point. We must address the issues affecting our municipalities, and as the Secretary General, I have committed myself to be on the frontlines in addressing issues,” Mbalula said.
🚨🚨SECRETARY GENERAL SERVICE DELIVERY ALERT IN CITY OF JOHANNESBURG
Today we addressed the issue of the burst water pipes in Homestead Road, Bryanston in the City of Johannesburg. Upon receiving complaints the city acted to switch of the flow of water as not to waste any of… pic.twitter.com/EcWoST6h63
– ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) February 10, 2026
Meanwhile, Joburg Mayor Dada Morero is expected to brief the media, presumably about the city’s water crisis.
ALSO READ: Smelly Joburg water contamination: Quality test results revealed
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