Johannesburg’s dry taps partly blamed on heatwave

Residents across areas in South Africa’s largest city have suffered during the current heatwave as some have now been without water for over a week.

The public water services provider Johannesburg Water says lower reservoir levels and increased water consumption are also fuelling the city’s ongoing water crisis.

“The reduced flow into Johannesburg Water’s Linden 1 and Blairgowrie reservoirs is mainly due to the increase in demand caused by hot weather conditions as well as reservoirs being critically low to empty,” Johannesburg Water said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday (Mar. 11).

Johannesburg Water said technical teams were monitoring all the affected systems and that outlets of teh critically low reservoirs will be throttled overnight to build capacity, a customer notice added.

Power outages alsor reportefly affected the Eikenhof pump station, leaving residents of Joburg areas including greater Soweto with intermittent water supply.

The current water crisis began late last year but has worsened in recent weeks.

Alternative water supply is currently provided to affected areas.