Johannesburg taps stay dry as Morero reports storage up to 41%

Johannesburg’s water supply is improving but is not yet stable, with some households in their second week without water and some taps dry for more than 10 days, Mayor Dada Morero said on Monday afternoon.

Briefing media on the outages and low pressure that began on 19 October 2026, Morero said overall storage across the city’s water system had reached 41%, up from 37% the previous day. Teams are adjusting water flows, bulk meters and network pressures to manage the available storage and push supply towards struggling parts of the network, and are releasing trapped air from pipelines to clear airlocks restricting flow.

“We acknowledge the frustration this has caused. Restoring a reliable water supply remains our priority,” Morero said. He said restoration was being managed gradually so the network is not overwhelmed and recovering reservoirs are not drained, and warned residents may see reduced pressure or temporary interruptions while the work continues. Residents are asked to keep using water sparingly.

The recovery is uneven across the city. In the Commando system, Brixton Reservoir 1 is at about 91% with its outlet fully open and Brixton Reservoir 2 at about 50%, while the Hursthill 2 interlink has been opened further to increase supply to Crosby, Brixton and Hursthill.

Across the Central systems, Parktown Reservoir remains very low and teams are working to improve inflows. Yeoville Reservoir has recovered to above 40% with two pumps operating and supply restored. Inflows into Alexander Park have improved, restoring supply to most of the zone, though high-lying areas remain affected. South Hills tower is at about 69%, and Berea Reservoir improved overnight to above 60% with its outlet fully open.

Storage across the Sandton systems improved overnight to about 37% from 27% the day before, but levels remain low. The Bryanston and Illovo pumping stations are operating on bypass, and Bryanston, Illovo and Morningside remain under active management. The Grand Central Reservoir in Midrand remains very low, with pumping to the tower suspended. Erand Reservoir is at about 35% with its outlet fully open, improving supply to Kyalami, Noordwyk and Vorna Valley, although inflows remain low. President Park Reservoir is at about 67%, but Ivory Park, Allandale and Kaalfontein continue to experience challenges.

In the Randburg and Roodepoort systems, Honeydew continues to see very low inflows and reservoir levels despite a slight overnight improvement. Sundowner, Northriding and Northgate remain affected, and a technical team has been deployed to investigate. Waterval and Quellerina towers have water and supply has been restored, and throttling was lifted on Sunday afternoon for parts of Cosmo City, including Extension 0, where the reservoir is now receiving water.

In Soweto, areas including Power Park, Chiawelo, Protea Glen, Meadowlands, Zondi, Noordgesig, Diepkloof Extension, Eldorado Park and Pimville were affected by network configurations put in place to support recovery at Rand Water’s Meredale Reservoir. Throttling was lifted on Sunday, the affected reservoirs are recovering, and teams are monitoring and stabilising the systems. Crown Gardens Reservoir and Tower are both at 100% and supplying water.

Morero said teams across the network are prioritising the prompt isolation of burst pipes and leaks, faster repairs and the clearing of outstanding service delivery backlogs.

On the findings of the South African Human Rights Commission on the water situation in Gauteng, the mayor said the city welcomes the recommendations and will engage Rand Water on implementing them and on the challenges identified, including those already being addressed. He said Johannesburg Water is building a fully municipality-owned water tanker fleet to reduce reliance on outsourced contractors, following a Council resolution in the 2023/24 financial year to insource the service, and that budget constraints mean this is being done in phases.

“We recognise that improving reservoir levels offers little comfort to residents whose taps remain dry. Our immediate focus is to turn system recovery into a stable supply for every affected household,” Morero said.

This report is drawn from SAnews (South African Government News Agency), the government’s own account of the mayor’s briefing, at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/johannesburg-water-supply-improving-says-morero. The figures are the city’s, as given at the briefing, and no independent audit of reservoir levels is cited in that account.