enca - 24 days ago

Water crisis looming as Gauteng demand reaches record levels Nokuthula Khanyile Fri, 01/23/2026 - 08:30 JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng municipalities must introduce strong restrictions and enforce them to avert a water shortage crisis.This was the warning from Water and Sanitation director general Sean Phillips as the province’s water demand hit a record high.Gauteng’s water demand is at a record high and Johannesburg is the main driver with usage exceeding 1,700 megalitres per day.READ: Knysna water supply at critical levelPhillips said the crisis was compounded by both a high demand and infrastructure failure.“The water problem in Gauteng has multiple causes. Just because the dams are full now, doesn’t mean we should use a lot more water. The weather can change very quickly,” Phillips cautioned.“The other cause is the leaks in the municipal distribution systems are too high. The average consumption of water per capita per day in Gauteng is also very high.”READ: Johannesburg water under pressure as reservoir levels dropGauteng’s consumption of water per capita per day currently sits at 279 litres, compared to the Western Cape’s 156 litres per capita per day.Phillips said to avert the pressure, municipalities had to introduce punitive measures for long term behaviour change.“The municipalities have to introduce punitive tariffs for people who use a lot of water. Put in place strong restrictions and enforce them. Other measures like reducing the pressure in the water system and provide information for people to track their behaviour change also worked for the City of Cape Town,” he said.

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