“How do we cope?” Midrand residents reach breaking point after six days without water

Six days dry, and patience finally runs out

By Tuesday morning, frustration in Midrand had boiled over. Dozens of residents gathered in protest, holding nothing fancy just anger, exhaustion and a desperate need for water.

For Abby Artico, the crisis is painfully personal. With both her parents in their late 80s, daily care has become a logistical nightmare. “How do I clean them? How do I wash them?” she asked, echoing a question many families in the crowd quietly shared.

Midrand, part of Johannesburg’s northernmost administrative region, has been without running water for almost six days yet another outage in an area that residents say has become used to going dry for days at a time.

Tankers, but not enough and not for everyone

Officials point residents to water tankers, but accessing them is far from simple. Without a car, collecting water can mean hours of waiting or relying on neighbours and friends. Some residents say they arrive at advertised tanker points only to find no trucks, no water and no updates.

On the ground, even Joburg Water officials admit the problem. Tankers refill from fire hydrants in Midrand, but there simply aren’t enough trucks to serve the growing population.

On social media, anger has spilled over. Residents have shared images of long queues, empty buckets and even illegally opened fire hydrants a risky but desperate move by people who say they’ve been left with no alternatives.

What actually caused the outage?

The current disruption began on 27 January when a motor linked to a pump at the Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant exploded. While repairs were completed a few days later, a second blow followed: a leak was discovered at the Klipfontein Reservoir inlet, further delaying the return of water to Midrand.

Rand Water says its systems are now fully operational and pumping at full capacity. Yet Midrand taps remain dry.

In a statement, the bulk supplier pointed to a long-standing issue: extremely high water demand in Midrand, intensified by rapid growth in both formal housing developments and informal settlements.

“The silence makes it worse”

Ward councillor Lerato Mphefo says residents’ anger isn’t just about water it’s about communication. She criticised both Rand Water and Joburg Water for failing to give clear, consistent updates.

According to Mphefo, water tankers are unreliable, and information about their locations often changes without warning. “People arrive expecting water and find nothing,” she said.

A deeper infrastructure problem

Civil society organisation WaterCAN believes Midrand’s struggle reflects a much bigger issue. Ferrial Adam, a water activist with the group, says repeated outages are the result of years of underinvestment in water infrastructure by both national and local government.

Adam, who helped organise a water protest outside the Johannesburg Council last year, confirmed that civil society groups recently met with Mayor Dada Morero. Joburg Water officials committed to regular engagement with communities a move WaterCAN hopes will lead to accountability.

The organisation is calling for daily public briefings from Rand Water and Joburg Water, using plain language, clear timelines and honest explanations.

A community asking one simple thing

For Midrand residents, the demand isn’t complicated. They want water and they want honesty about when it’s coming back.

Until then, buckets, borrowed water and growing frustration remain part of daily life in a suburb that feels it has been left waiting far too long.

{Source: African Insider}

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