The water crisis in Johannesburg persists despite major water cuts and subsequent outages.
Despite Municipal poor management challenges, factors such as population growth and economic changes including; street Car wash businesses, played a role in water losses. In a meeting held on Saturday, 22 November, Specialist Stakeholder, Tshepo Makhetha of Johannesburg Water said "Adhering to the provided level 1 water restrictions measures may prevent future outages, However, the water department will escalate restrictions to level 3 where tap water drops twice weekly."
“ If measures are taken for granted, There will be a time when water taps drop in once if not twice a week. "While condemning the incorrect use of water, Makhetha also highlighted that failure to conserve and obey the restrictions is now unlawful.”
Let's us all act. It's in everyone's hands to save water”. However, the specialist Stakeholder admitted that the current situation could have been avoided if municipalities had taken charge. The implemented measures include: Using 1 glass of water when brushing teeth, only using grey water when washing cars, And avoiding cleaning pavement areas using hosepipes. Fix leaking taps and shorten bath times.
The level 1 restriction will remain until March 2025, if safe water use is prioritized. The mandatory underway project in extensions, 2, 4, and 6 is required to recover the excess water losses. The estimated rescheduled for the ongoing project is 18 months.