The DA in Johannesburg is preparing to launch legal action against the City of Johannesburg and Joburg Water over the deepening water crisis, arguing that residents have been denied their constitutional right to reliable access to clean water.
The move comes as ongoing supply disruptions across the metro have sparked growing frustration, including protest action in areas such as Melville and Parktown West.
DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille said on Wednesday that the party had been in consultation with legal experts since last year, carefully reviewing documentation on the city’s water challenges.
This includes the water recovery plan adopted by the Johannesburg council two years ago.
Speaking at Nkululeko House in Bruma, Zille said the DA’s legal team believes the party has strong grounds to approach the courts given the scale of infrastructure failure and prolonged outages experienced by communities.
“The first point is that water is a constitutional right—it is not a nice-to-have,” Zille said. “Then we look at the extent to which this right has been violated.”
Service delivery breakdown
She highlighted several areas where residents and businesses have reportedly gone without a consistent supply for over a year, describing the situation as more than a service delivery breakdown.
Zille pointed to Selby, where some sites have allegedly been without water since July last year.
She also cited an inner-city location near Broad Street, where clean water continues to spill from a damaged pipe while nearby factories have been without supply for 18 months.
“True to form, there is water flowing in the street, but the factories there have had no water for a year and a half,” she said.
According to Zille, the DA’s court case will focus not only on the collapse of the system but also on the municipality’s failure to properly implement or finance its turnaround strategy.
“Although there is a water strategy, it is not being implemented, and it is not being funded,” she said.
The DA is expected to seek a court order compelling Joburg Water and the city to act, enforce the recovery plan, and meet their constitutional obligations.
Zille said the party would also present residents with an alternative intervention plan, including replacing aging infrastructure.
“It means fixing at least 120km of pipes per year,” she said.
In response to the crisis, Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero said the city is rolling out urgent measures for managing water demand aimed at stabilising supply and reducing consumption.
Illegal connections
Morero noted that Johannesburg is among the biggest consumers of bulk water from Rand Water and must reduce daily usage to 1 550 megalitres per day to comply with licence conditions.
He said interventions include real-time monitoring at the household and district levels, partnerships with businesses to promote water savings, and increased public awareness efforts.
Immediate steps already underway include nighttime throttling, restrictions in high-use zones, intensified pressure management, advanced leak detection, and faster repairs to limit losses.
Morero acknowledged that aging infrastructure, illegal connections, and years of underinvestment continue to strain the system.
He said Johannesburg Water is accelerating reservoir repairs, pipe replacement, smart metering, and stricter by-law enforcement to reduce non-revenue water.
He urged residents and businesses to reduce consumption, report leaks quickly, and adhere to restrictions as the city works to restore stability and secure sustainable access.
