Life in South Africa’s economic heartland has become increasingly difficult as large parts of Gauteng continue to endure prolonged water outages, leaving households, schools and businesses scrambling to cope.
In recent weeks, residents in Midrand, Alexandra, Melvern, Fourways, Laudium and parts of Tshwane, including Atteridgeville, have gone days without running water.
In some communities, the disruptions have become so severe that basic routines such as cooking, bathing and keeping schools open have been brought to a halt.
Rand Water, the bulk water supplier to Gauteng, says the crisis is not the result of empty dams but of a water system under sustained pressure from high demand, ageing infrastructure and a series of recent operational failures.
At a bulk level, water availability remains relatively stable.
The Integrated Vaal River System, which…
