The Taps
Ran Dry

ZUIKERBOSCH POWER FAILURES LEAVE GAUTENG COMMUNITIES ON DRY TAPS — SOSHANGUVE HARDEST HIT

Repeated electrical faults at Rand Water's Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant have disrupted water supply across parts of Gauteng. A cable fault on 8 October reduced pumping capacity at the Palmiet Booster Station, and a further power outage on 9 October slowed refilling of the Hartebeeshoek Reservoir. Communities in Soshanguve, Mabopane and surrounding areas experienced low pressure or no water over the weekend.

The DA’s Gauteng caucus, after a site visit, said Rand Water “must get its house in order”, warning that a single electrical failure at Zuikerbosch can threaten the water supply of millions. Rand Water has since reported the plant is back to full operation, but pressure in higher-lying areas may take days to normalise.

Sources: The Citizen · Infrastructure News · Jacaranda FM · DA Gauteng — 8–13 October 2026Permalink

NEARLY HALF OF SA'S WASTEWATER SYSTEMS IN CRITICAL CONDITION — GREEN DROP REPORT

The full Green Drop Report for the 2023/24 financial year, released in March, paints a worsening picture of South Africa's sewerage infrastructure. Of 848 municipal wastewater treatment systems assessed, 396 (47%) are in critical condition — up from 334 (39%) in the previous assessment. Only 66 systems (8%) perform at good or excellent levels, down from 118 (14%).

The Department of Water and Sanitation is pursuing 96 criminal cases against 53 water services authorities. The Free State has 81 critical systems, the highest provincial total. Nationally, only 1,151 of the required 2,431 process controllers are employed — a skills gap that undermines every intervention.

Sources: TimesLIVE · Mail & Guardian · IOL — 5 October 2026 (citing Green Drop Report, March 2026)Permalink

This site published nothing between 10 September and 5 October 2026. The gap was not editorial. The automated daily updater stopped working on 9 September and nobody noticed for 27 days.

Two unrelated things broke within an hour of each other. A Windows update replaced the version of PowerShell the scheduled job was pointed at and deleted the old one, so the job could not start. The same day, the unattended login the job uses expired and would not renew. The job's own status file therefore kept reporting the last successful run, and the task scheduler recorded no missed runs — because it did fire each morning, it simply failed to launch. Both faults are now fixed.

The entries dated 10 September to 5 October were written on 6 October from the archive, and each one says so. A date on this site is the date the thing happened. It does not mean this site reported it that day, and in this window it did not.

Some days in that window are thinner than they should be and a few are missing. Where the record could not be established from named sources, nothing was written rather than something plausible.

Sources: This site's own run logs and Windows Task Scheduler records, 9 September – 6 October 2026Permalink

NEARLY HALF OF SA'S WASTEWATER SYSTEMS IN CRITICAL STATE — 96 CRIMINAL CASES OPENED

Nearly half (47%) of South Africa's municipal wastewater treatment systems are now classified as critical, up from 39% in the previous assessment, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation's latest Green Drop Report. Only 14 of 848 systems achieved Green Drop certification.

The department is pursuing 96 criminal cases against 53 water services authorities for persistent sewage failures. The Free State is worst affected, with 98% of its systems rated poor or critical. The Western Cape and Gauteng remain the best performers.

Non-revenue water — treated water lost before reaching consumers — sits at 47.3%, costing an estimated R26 billion per year. The government has allocated R156 billion in grants over the next three years for water and sanitation infrastructure, but the estimated cost to fully repair municipal water services is R400 billion.

Sources: TimesLIVE · Business Day · Mail & Guardian · IOL · Daily Maverick — 5 October 2026Permalink

ONE TAP, SIX YEARS: RESIDENTS BLOCK THE N2 AND R300 FOR A FOURTH TIME IN A WEEK

Residents of the Covid informal settlement near Mfuleni blocked the N2, the R300 and Old Faure Road demanding water and sanitation — the fourth protest in a week. Police estimated about 500 people.

The settlement has been occupied for six years and is served by one community-installed tap. Elderly residents pay R10 for youths to fetch water.

The Premier's Office confirmed receiving the memorandum and referred it to the Western Cape Department of Local Government. The City of Cape Town had not responded by publication.

Separately, about 50 community health workers began a month of protests in Bishop Lavis demanding permanent employment by the Western Cape health department. The department said it “recognises and values” their contribution but has “made no decision to permanently absorb them.”

On 15 September the Western Cape High Court ordered residents of the Singabalapha settlement in Observatory to vacate by the end of November, with the City identifying a Gugulethu site for relocation.

Added later — this entry was written on 6 October 2026, not on the date above. The daily updater was down and this day was reconstructed from the archive afterwards.

Sources: GroundUp · EWN — 15 September – 5 October 2026Permalink

COMMANDO SYSTEM FAILURE: RESERVOIRS AT 32–36%, ONE TOWER AT 1%

Residents across Greenside, Emmarentia, Coronationville, Westbury, Auckland Park, Mayfair, Parktown West and Melville reported outages, some lasting over a week. Reservoir levels were recorded at Crosby 36%, Brixton 32% and Brixton tower 1%.

Parktown West residents documented 57 days without water between 12 December 2025 and 19 March 2026, and 157 days of low or zero pressure between 20 March and 11 September 2026.

Causes cited were the dysfunction of Hurst Hill 2, power failures at the Eikenhof pump station, a valve break at Crosby and Rand Water plant outages. Recovery was estimated at two weeks. The Hurst Hill 2 refurbishment is costed at R32 million.

Separately, eThekwini recorded 58.7% non-revenue water in its latest financial year with about 13,000 leaks, spills and flood repairs outstanding. We note that figure circulates alongside two others — 65% claimed by the DA and 55.6% elsewhere — and that the report carrying 58.7% attributes it to an official under a title that is plainly wrong, so we attribute the figure to no one.

Added later — this entry was written on 6 October 2026, not on the date above. The daily updater was down and this day was reconstructed from the archive afterwards.

Sources: News24 · The Witness — 15–22 September 2026Permalink

WATER MINISTER APOLOGISES FOR SWEARING AT A RESIDENT

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina apologised six days after being filmed swearing at a resident during a community engagement at the launch of the upgraded Loerie Sewer Pump Station in Kouga, Eastern Cape, on 9 September.

“In the heat of the moment, I reacted after being subjected to profane language. I take full responsibility for my conduct and deeply regret responding by using the same words directed at me… I sincerely apologise to the people of Kouga and to all South Africans.”

The incident prompted ethics complaints from the DA and ActionSA, and calls for her resignation from AfriForum.

Added later — this entry was written on 6 October 2026, not on the date above. The daily updater was down and this day was reconstructed from the archive afterwards.

Sources: News24 · Department of Water and Sanitation statement via Infrastructure News — 15 September 2026Permalink

TSHWANE CUTS POWER TO A JOHANNESBURG WATER RESERVOIR OVER R62-MILLION

The City of Tshwane disconnected electricity to a Johannesburg Water reservoir in Centurion over an outstanding debt of R62 million. Tshwane said the original bill was R69.4 million, of which only R7 million was paid after a final notice. The action formed part of its Tshwane Ya Tima revenue campaign. Mayor Nasiphi Moya: “We continue to plead with customers to honour their municipal bills. Without revenue, we are unable to deliver services to residents.”

It came a day after a contractor working for Emfuleni damaged an Eskom line supplying Rand Water's Vereeniging treatment plant, reducing pumping at Eikenhof, Zwartkoppies and Vereeniging. Rand Water said it takes about six hours to restart its systems after a power failure, and that municipal reservoir recovery can take weeks.

The DA called the disconnection “deeply reckless and irresponsible” given that Johannesburg Water reservoirs were already critically low. That statement is a party document and carries no debt figure of its own.

Added later — this entry was written on 6 October 2026, not on the date above. The daily updater was down and this day was reconstructed from the archive afterwards.

Sources: Jacaranda FM · Infrastructure News (Rand Water statement) · Polity — 13–17 September 2026Permalink

ETHEKWINI NEEDS R6–R8 BILLION JUST TO RESTORE SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE — AND THAT IS BEFORE BUILDING ANYTHING NEW

A Deputy Director of eThekwini's sanitation services told a ministerial oversight visit on 22 August that the municipality needs between R6 billion and R8 billion to restore the functionality of its existing sewer pipeline infrastructure — not to expand it, but to get what is already there back to working order. That figure does not include the estimated R4.6 billion the acting director of eThekwini Water and Sanitation says is needed to bring all Wastewater Treatment Works up to Green Drop compliance standards.

The visit, led by Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister Dr Jack Bloom, focused on the south coast area of Amanzimtoti, where persistent sewage leaks have produced a permanent foul stench. The municipality acknowledged it has eight kilometres of sea outfall pipelines that need replacement.

This is the same metro that in August 2026 is losing an estimated 65% of its water to leaks, theft and billing failure, and that had a man killed by a water tanker in Adams Mission because residents were dependent on tanker delivery rather than a functioning reticulation system. The R6–8bn figure for sewers is separate from the water-side repair cost — and both sit in a municipality whose fiscal position has been described as precarious.

Sources: EWN · allAfrica · IOL · SAnews · The Witness — 21–23 August 2026Permalink

THE WATER CRISIS TURNS DEADLY IN DURBAN

A man was killed by an eThekwini Municipality water tanker in Adams Mission, eMbumbulu (Ward 96) on Sunday, 2 August 2026. Police have opened a case of culpable homicide; the municipality has launched an internal investigation.

The circumstances are disputed and matter enormously. Residents of Adams Mission allege that tanker drivers have been selling water that is supposed to be delivered free, and that the deceased — named in reports as Celani Zungu — was struck while trying to stop a tanker from leaving without delivering to the community. A local councillor has said there is no concrete evidence of water being sold. Neither account has been tested in court.

Whatever the finding, the underlying condition is not disputed: these communities depend on tankers at all because the reticulation system has failed. eThekwini is now losing an estimated 65% of its water to leaks, theft and billing failure amid a metro-wide plumbing crisis. A tanker economy is what replaces a water system, and it creates exactly the incentives residents are describing.

Sources: IOL · The Witness · eNCA · allAfrica — 3–4 August 2026Permalink