Residents in Johannesburg continue to face water shortages weeks after the commissioning of the Brixton Reservoir and Water Tower. A senior parliamentarian has highlighted governance and budget issues behind the recurring disruptions.
Johannesburg has experienced repeated water outages in areas including Brixton, Coronationville, Melville and Midrand. These followed Rand Water’s winter maintenance programme and occurred shortly after the Gauteng premier highlighted the new Brixton facility as a source of relief.
Leon Basson, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, noted that the city cut Joburg Water’s budget by R201 million for the 2025/26 financial year. He also pointed to 44.7 percent non-revenue water losses costing an estimated R3.8 billion annually and more than R650 million spent on water tankers over five years.
Basson stated that years of deferred maintenance have left infrastructure unable to handle planned work without widespread interruptions. He called for greater accountability rather than further announcements.