Johannesburg water outage halts High Court operations

1 Views

The Gauteng Division of the High Court, Johannesburg, temporarily closed its doors due to the ongoing water shortage gripping the city. The Office of the Chief Justice announced that the court would cease operations at 11:00 on Thursday, 13 February, citing a lack of water supply.

Affected cases and public inconvenience

All court matters scheduled were rescheduled, with affected parties notified of alternative arrangements. The closure highlights the worsening impact of the water crisis on essential services and infrastructure in Johannesburg.

The shortage has also raised concerns for businesses and residents as water supply levels continue to dwindle. Rand Water, the utility responsible for providing water to the Gauteng region, reports that reservoir levels have dropped from 70% to below 40% since last month.

Rand Water issues warning on system collapse

Makenosi Maroo, Rand Water spokesperson, warned that consumption in the City of Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni places significant pressure on the system.

“Our Rand Water systems are dropping fast as a result of extremely high-water consumption from our customers, namely the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane, as reported in our weekly consumption figures,” Maroo said.

Furthermore, she emphasised that while Rand Water is operating at maximum capacity, rising temperatures, maintenance work, and power outages have accelerated the depletion of water reserves. Additionally, the utility has urged Gauteng municipalities to reduce their water use to avoid a potential collapse of the interconnected system.

A Call for Collective Responsibility

Maroo stressed that sustainable water use is critical to maintaining equitable access across the province. “Water conservation is a joint responsibility that must be observed and practised by all customers to ensure sustainable and equitable supply of water,” she said.