Joburg wants 15% less water used. What you can't do with your hosepipe

Johannesburg Water wants households and businesses to use about 15% less water, and has proposed tighter Level 1 restrictions to get there. The biggest change for homes: hosepipes would need a spray nozzle, and hosing down paving or wetting building sand would be banned (Johannesburg Water statement, 29 October; Randburg Sun).

Some rules already apply. Level 1 restrictions have been in force across the city since 1 September and run until 31 March 2027 (City of Johannesburg notice).

What can't you do under the current rules?

These apply now, every day, until 31 March 2027 (City of Johannesburg notice; Johannesburg Water, 21 October):

What would change under the tighter proposal?

Johannesburg Water's proposal adds to the existing list (Randburg Sun; The Citizen):

The plan also allows Johannesburg Water to cut the amount of water sent to high-consumption areas if other measures don't bring demand down. It says safeguards will protect access to basic water supply and that essential services will get alternative supply (Randburg Sun).

Are the tighter rules in effect yet?

Not confirmed. Johannesburg Water has described them as proposed, and it has not published a start date. It says any further restrictions will be announced on official channels before they're implemented (Randburg Sun). Until then, the September Level 1 rules above are the ones in force.

Why is Joburg tightening the rules now?

Demand has been high for weeks as temperatures rose, and reservoirs and towers can't refill fast enough. Johannesburg Water says this is causing low pressure, intermittent supply and long outages (The Citizen).

It listed seven groups of supply systems under strain, from Commando (Brixton, Crosby, Hursthill) and Central (Parktown, Berea, Yeoville, Linksfield) to Sandton, Midrand, Randburg-Roodepoort, Soweto and the Deep South, including Lenasia and Orange Farm. Higher-lying areas are hit hardest when storage drops (The Citizen).

On 21 October it also warned of targeted supply restrictions in areas with high water losses, wastage and low payment levels, and more by-law enforcement against illegal connections (Johannesburg Water, 21 October).

Could Level 2 restrictions follow?

Yes, if demand keeps climbing. Johannesburg Water says it will consider Level 2 restrictions should demand continue to increase after the tighter Level 1 measures are implemented (Randburg Sun). It hasn't said what Level 2 would include.

How do you report wastage or a leak?

Log water faults with Johannesburg Water by email at [email protected] (Johannesburg Water) or on its call centre, 010 061 4470 or 086 056 2874 (The South African). Outage and restriction updates go out on X at @JHBWater and on the utility's Facebook page.

For today's affected areas, see our Johannesburg water outages update.