By Akani Nkuna
The City of Johannesburg on Wednesday officially opened the Brixton Reservoir and Water Tower Project.
Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina said the project was part of efforts to strengthen Johannesburg’s water network and improve the reliability of supply in areas served by the Commando Water Supply System.
“The Brixton Reservoir and Water Tower is not an isolated development. It is a part of a broader coordinated effort to stabilise and strengthen the water supply system in Johannesburg, it is part of the Commando Water Supply System,” she said at the opening.
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“This critical infrastructure will simultaneously enhance water storage, improve supply stability and ensure greater faith in reliability for thousands of residents and key institutions.”
The project includes a 26-megalitre ground reservoir, a two-megalitre elevated water tower, a 200-litre-per-second pump station and associated pipeline infrastructure.
The Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, Helen Joseph Hospital, the University of Johannesburg and the SABC are among the major institutions expected to benefit, along with communities in the surrounding precinct.
Majodina said Johannesburg’s water problems were not only about bulk-water availability, but also about the regulation, distribution and maintenance of water infrastructure. She said the city had enough bulk water capacity, but that disruptions were being worsened by old and ageing municipal infrastructure.
“The challenge facing Johannesburg water system is the aging infrastructure, economic growth, population growth, climate variability but also mass rooming and informal settlements that needs services. The water mafia, illegal connections and all those come back to the municipality,” Majodina said.
Majodina called on Johannesburg residents to play their part by discouraging vandalism of government infrastructure. She also criticised politicians who, she said, exploited genuine community frustration for political gain, adding that this undermined efforts to rebuild communities.
She said politicians often amplified challenges without offering solutions, but that water security was too important to be reduced to a “political football” by political parties.
“Our people deserve honesty. Our people deserve accountability, and above all we must reject politics about opportunism to embrace the politics of responsibility. The work of rebuilding and modernising our water infrastructure requires unity of purpose in action,” Majodina said.
Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero welcomed the increase in capital investment in Johannesburg Water from R1.2 billion to R1.7 billion, saying it reflected government’s commitment to water infrastructure in the city.
Morero said the city had tabled reforms in council to support its 10-year Infrastructure Investment Plan and enable it to secure alternative funding models for infrastructure. These included tariff reforms to “ensure cost-effective tariffs”.
“These structured reforms…will secure sustainable water resilience for the City of Johannesburg’s key programmes,” Morero said.
“The focus is mainly on upgrading and renewing networks, expanding WWTW, reservoir storage capacity, and water demand management initiatives. These programmes will assist in improving efficiencies in the water supply and wastewater treatment systems,” he said.
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