Water woes will be sorted in seven days, says mayor

As Johannesburg enters its second week of widespread water outages, residents and businesses continue to grapple with severe disruptions to daily life.

- Enkosi Selane

Large parts of Johannesburg have been without water for more than a week due to high demand and infrastructure issues, prompting mayor Dada Morero to announce emergency measures during a media briefing yesterday morning.

The crisis, triggered by electrical faults at the Mfuleni and Eikenhof pump stations, has affected residential areas, businesses and public institutions, including the temporary closure of the High Court in Johannesburg.

"We find this very unacceptable. This is a pain to our customers and it shouldn't be," Morero said.

He assured residents that water supply should be restored within seven days as reservoirs return to proper levels.

Behind the immediate crisis lies a more complex infrastructure challenge that has plagued Johannesburg for years.

The city has a maintenance backlog with an estimated cost of R27 billion.