These municipalities could face ’emergency’ Rand Water shutdown on eve of elections

A power failure affecting a pumping station in Ekurhuleni left it out of operation for more than 14 hours, threatening the water supply. Large parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga could be without water the day before the highly anticipated 2026 local government elections. Rand Water and the City of Ekurhuleni confirmed that a power outage affecting the area around the Mapleton pumping station had occurred on Monday evening at around 8.30pm. Pumping at the station was immediately halted, and as of Tuesday morning, the electricity supply to the site had not been restored. Rand Water stressed that it had no control over power restoration and could only resume pumping once the issue was resolved. “Rand Water has requested the City of Ekurhuleni to treat this outage as an emergency,” the entity confirmed. No restoration time relayed As of 10.30am on Tuesday, no pumping was occurring at the Mapleton station, reservoirs were low, and no restoration time was available. “The station has been unable to pump water since the interruption. Failure to repair the breaker and resolve this critical outage with the urgency it demands has left water supply to affected municipalities at risk. “Despite repeated enquiries through the night, Rand Water has received no firm commitment from the City of Ekurhuleni on when electricity will be restored,” Rand Water stated on Tuesday. The entity said low reservoir levels and supply interruptions were not due to bulk water supply shortages, but to operational challenges, infrastructure limitations, high consumption, and water-level recovery timeframes. “Rand Water plays a critical role in supplying bulk water to municipalities. However, water supply challenges need to be understood in the context of the entire water supply chain, from bulk supply to taps,” the entity stated. Affected municipalities Rand Water stated that should pumping not resume urgently, areas in the following municipalities could experience water supply challenges: Ekurhuleni Tshwane Thembsilie Hani Victor Khanye Govan Mbeki Stabilising the system requires Rand Water and the affected municipalities to work together, with clear communication, effective demand management and coordinated operational interventions. Rather than assigning blame, the priority must be to identify the cause, communicate the facts openly, and implement lasting measures that restore and protect water security for communities,” Rand Water concluded.