
Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial center, is contemplating the introduction of stricter water restrictions as it grapples with aging infrastructure and increasing demand.
At present, the city has level 1 restrictions in place, which limit residents from watering their gardens and utilizing municipal water for cleaning paved surfaces between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Read: Sarb raises concerns over deteriorating infrastructure
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Logan Munsamy, the Operations Manager at Johannesburg Water, remarked in an interview with Newzroom Afrika that these restrictions are “not fully effective.” He indicated that there are discussions about escalating the restrictions, possibly to level 2 or beyond. This next level would ban the use of municipal water for garden irrigation, refilling swimming pools, and using hoses for washing vehicles or cleaning driveways.
The South African government is confronting a worsening water crisis, largely attributed to years of insufficient investment and inadequate maintenance. In October, Rand Water, Africa’s largest bulk-water supplier, warned that Gauteng province — which includes Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria — may experience serious water shortages unless cities urgently curtail their consumption.
Read: Johannesburg residents, police clash in riot over water shortages
On Wednesday, tensions flared in the Westbury area of Johannesburg as residents protested against ongoing water outages. The Democratic Alliance submitted a memo to Executive Mayor Dada Morero, revealing that some households have been deprived of water for 70 days.
South Africa’s central bank has emphasized that the decline of water, transport, and other essential infrastructures presents a serious threat to the nation’s financial stability.
Read: The shocking decline of Joburg in pictures over the last decade
The deterioration of water infrastructure is becoming more severe as South Africa slowly recovers from a prolonged energy crisis, during which the state power utility implemented rolling blackouts lasting up to 12 hours per day.
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