JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says over half a billion rand has been allocated to solve water crisis in the province permanently.
Speaking during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Monday, Lesufi said an infrastructure investment upgrade valued at R760 million is currently underway in the City of Johannesburg.
The project includes the construction of a new reservoir and tower in Brixton, an emergency pumping station, and a 5km pipeline expected to be completed by the end of the year.
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Lesufi has apologised to residents affected by the recent water disruptions.
He attributed the problem to a major explosion at the Rand Water plant on 27 January 2026 resulting in the transmission equipment being damaged and a burst pipe.
"We then went into emergency mode."
According to Lesufi the repairs to the damaged infrastructure were completed within 72 hours, including extinguishing the fire and fixing the burst pipe.
But, water levels had already been significantly impacted.
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Lesufi said water to date has since been fully restored in Midrand and surrounding areas, as well as in the West Rand while areas in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Sedibeng are now stable.
He said while progress has been made in some parts of Soweto, areas like Meadowlands Zones 3 and 4, and areas supplied by the Doornkop reservoir, are still being addressed.