Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has addressed the province’s water crisis, announcing new restrictions and a real-time ‘water dashboard’. File Picture: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi this week addressed the province’s escalating water challenges, marking his 100 days in office at the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPU).
Lesufi emphasised that while Gauteng is not experiencing an outright water shortage, the province’s water system faces mounting issues due to illegal connections, ageing infrastructure that has not been replaced over many years, and severe water leakages.
“We are putting together a team of law enforcement agencies that will assist us in disconnecting all illegal water connections in the province,” Lesufi said.
As a major intervention, Gauteng has imposed Level 1 water restrictions across all eleven municipalities to limit non-essential water use.
These restrictions ban activities such as filling swimming pools, washing cars with hoses, and watering gardens during peak hours.
“Our water usage needs to reflect that we are currently facing a crisis,” Lesufi urged, calling for residents’ support in adopting water-saving habits to alleviate pressure on the system.
Lesufi also introduced a pioneering “water data hub,” or “water dashboard,” which provides Gauteng residents with real-time insights into water levels, shortages, and repair updates across the province.
Developed in partnership with the Platform for Water Secure Gauteng (PWSG) Dashboard Working Group, this hub aims to improve transparency and enable residents to make informed choices regarding water consumption.
“We developed the water dashboard to provide residents with meaningful, reliable, and up-to-date information,” Lesufi explained. The dashboard, accessible through the Department of Water and Sanitation website, consolidates water information for cities across the province, offering a centralised platform for tracking supply issues.
Affected areas include Johannesburg’s southern suburbs, parts of Ekurhuleni like Bedfordview and Germiston, and sections of Pretoria in Tshwane, where water interruptions have led to public frustration and, in some cases, protests.
The government’s intensified approach, combining enforcement and transparent information-sharing, reflects an effort to strengthen Gauteng’s water infrastructure while encouraging community collaboration toward water conservation.
Lesufi concluded by stating that the dashboard and these other measures are part of a broader strategy for water security in Gauteng.
IOL