The year 2025 may go down as the year that forced South Africans — especially in Gauteng — to confront an uncomfortable truth about our water system. It is no longer “under pressure” but operating beyond its design limits.
The frequent outages, low pressure, reservoirs running dry, and desperate queues are not anomalies. They’re symptoms of a system stretched, neglected, and burdened far past its capacity.
The year revealed what many engineers and policy experts have warned for more than a decade: Gauteng’s water security challenge is structural, not seasonal. From households to municipalities, some weaknesses need to be urgently addressed.
Gauteng does not lack raw water. The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), the main source feeding Rand Water, has maintained adequate dam levels. But the system suffers from something as dangerous as a lack of raw water: there is no buffer.
Demand in Gauteng has grown relentlessly, driven by population expansion, rapid urbanisation, and consumption habits inconsistent with a water-scarce country. Rand Water estimates per-capita use at about 279l per person per day. This is far above the global average. That level of consumption has pushed the system to its extraction limit.
When a system operates with no margin, every disruption — be it a heatwave, a pump failure, a municipal leak, or scheduled maintenance — becomes a crisis.
The bulk-supply system is only one side of the equation. The other is municipal distribution — by this I’m referring to the pipes, valves, storage reservoirs, and pump stations that carry treated water into neighbourhoods. Here, the failures are even more glaring.
Rand Water has not been idle. In 2025 one of the most significant infrastructure upgrades in decades moved towards completion. The centrepiece is System 5A, a major augmentation project that will add up to 600-million litres per day to Gauteng’s bulk-water capacity
Across Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane, ageing infrastructure has been deteriorating faster than municipalities can do repairs. Non-revenue water — water lost before reaching consumers — is between 30% and 50% in many areas. Some suburbs lose more water through leaks than they consume. Burst pipes are daily events, and valve failures frequently collapse pressure zones.
It’s no surprise that when Rand Water conducted scheduled maintenance in mid-2025, vast parts of Johannesburg were plunged into days of low pressure or complete outages. In a robust system, maintenance is a slight inconvenience.
In 2025 it became a city-wide emergency that sparked public demonstrations. But amid the frustration, it’s important to separate perception from reality.
Rand Water has not been idle. In 2025 one of the most significant infrastructure upgrades in decades moved towards completion.
The centrepiece is System 5A, a major augmentation project that will add up to 600-million litres per day to Gauteng’s bulk-water capacity. Roughly a quarter of this new capacity has been integrated into the system. The remainder is on track for full commissioning by the end of this year.
If delivered as scheduled, System 5A will provide the first meaningful expansion of bulk supply in years. For a system running at its limit, an additional 600-million litres is not a luxury but a lifeline.
Over the next several years, the number of bulk reservoirs will rise from 60 to around 72, increasing total storage from roughly 6,100 megalitres to more than 7,600 megalitres. More storage creates stronger buffers, a crucial means for handling peak demand, maintenance periods, and unexpected shocks.
Equally important is Rand Water’s collaboration with municipalities on leak reduction and infrastructure fixes. More than 9bn litres of treated water per year have been saved through leak repairs, meter replacement, hydrant fixes and pressure-management interventions. Every litre saved through efficiency delays the need for more expensive augmentation.
The question now is whether 2026 will be another year of frustrations or the start of a more stable era. The answer depends on three things:
- If the full 600-million litres per day is integrated smoothly, Gauteng gains the breathing room it desperately needs. This does not eliminate outages but reduces the frequency and severity of supply shocks.
- Even with more bulk supply, water must still reach homes. Municipalities must urgently address leaking infrastructure, failing pumps, and reservoir-level management. Without this, additional supply simply leaks away or fails to stabilise pressure.
- Behaviour change is not optional. Gauteng cannot sustain consumption levels nearly twice the global average. Water-wise practices, reduced wastage, and stricter enforcement of illegal connections are essential to restoring balance.
If these three elements align, 2026 could mark the beginning of a more resilient water system. A system in which maintenance no longer triggers panic, where pressure is predictable, and where businesses can operate without fearing sudden interruptions.
• Qinga Vika is the founder and MD of VQ Communications & Consulting.
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