Minister sanctions urgent abstraction from Vaal River

WATER and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina has approved an urgent application by Rand Water to abstract additional water from the Integrated Vaal River System in a bid to stabilise struggling municipal reservoirs across Gauteng.

- WENDY DONDOLO

The intervention follows major disruptions between January 27 and February 1, 2026, when electro-mechanical failures at Rand Water's Palmiet and Zuikerbosch pump stations, as well as a major pipe burst at the Klipfontein reservoir, caused a sharp drop in treated water supply to municipalities.

Although Rand Water restored its full production of 5 billion litres per day by February 4, the temporary reduction severely depleted municipal storage reservoirs, leaving many high-lying areas without water.

Low-lying areas were largely unaffected.

A heatwave in early February worsened the situation by driving up consumption in areas still receiving supply, slowing the recovery of distribution systems.