Mashatile assures Bronkhorstspruit residents that no one will go without water

Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, has assured residents affected by a gastrointestinal illness outbreak in Bronkhorstspruit that no one will be left without water, as efforts to restore operations at the area’s water treatment plant continue.

The Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works remains shut down amid a chlorination challenge, with more than 500 cases of gastrointestinal illness recorded in the community.

Speaking during a visit to the plant and hospitalised patients on Monday, Mashatile confirmed that no deaths had been recorded. However, there is still no definitive timeline for when the plant will resume operations.

Residents have been warned against using tap water for drinking, cooking or bathing and have been advised to use it only for flushing toilets. They have also been advised to use alternative water supplies, including tankers provided by the City of Tshwane.

“The City is supplying water in the meantime, so there is nobody who will go without water while this plant is being attended to. Rand Water will take a few weeks, but we cannot put a specific timeframe for them; they have started the work,” Mashatile said.

Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, said progress is being made at the plant, with the first phase of the two-phase process expected to become operational as work progresses.

She acknowledged that relying on water tankers was far from ideal, warning that emergency arrangements should not become a prolonged solution.

“I always say water tankers are for emergency purposes. This is part of the emergency, and that emergency, if possible, must not be prolonged for more than two to three months, because it is quite taxing for municipalities, but also very inconvenient for ordinary citizens,” Majodina said.

The minister confirmed that there was sufficient chlorine to cover the next six to seven weeks, adding that Rand Water and the City of Tshwane had assured the department they would procure adequate supplies as soon as possible.

Majodina said the government was also auditing water treatment works, particularly in Gauteng, where the province’s high population and recurring water supply challenges had heightened concerns about infrastructure and water quality.

She warned that the country needs an estimated R400 billion to repair its water infrastructure.

Mashatile, however, raised concerns about the quality and sources of water supplied by private independent tanker operators.

Tshwane Mayor, Nasiphi Moya, said the municipality and service providers has supplied more than 30 water tankers in response to the Bronkhorstspruit crisis. She said the city was also keeping records of private mobile tanker operators to establish where their water was sourced.

Moya appealed to independent private water tanker operators willing to assist affected communities to obtain verification and authorisation before distributing water. 

She said the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) would also conduct compliance checks to ensure independent operators had the required municipal authorisation.

Moya also confirmed that the plant manager had been suspended following preliminary findings from an internal investigation. She stressed, however, that the investigation was ongoing and that the suspension was intended to allow the process to continue without interference.

The city has also commissioned an external investigation, with the mayor cautioning against placing responsibility on a single individual before the full circumstances have been established.

Meanwhile, Gauteng’s high water consumption has emerged as another major concern, with officials warning that excessive use and leaking infrastructure are placing additional pressure on an already strained supply system.

Rand Water says consumption in several municipalities has reached extremely high levels, making it increasingly difficult to balance supply across its network and raising the risk of disruptions.

The utility’s spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo, last week called on the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane and Madibeng Municipality to urgently introduce measures to curb consumption.

Maroo warned that Rand Water could take its own steps to stabilise the system, including limiting supply, if municipalities failed to act.

Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister, David Mahlobo, said the department was hopeful that its interventions would bring consumption back within permissible levels, warning that significant volumes of water were being lost through leaks.

The briefing also addressed other gastrointestinal illness cases reported elsewhere in the country.

At Rhodes University in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, more than 100 cases were recorded last week. Majodina said government testing had found the water to be safe and not contaminated. 

She added that the department was not assessing food outlets at the university, noting that surrounding facilities and the wider area had not reported similar cases.

At St Albans Correctional Centre in Gqeberha, 33 cases were reported after a sewer pipe burst allegedly resulted in cross-contamination of the potable water supply.

Majodina said the situation has since been brought under control.

As the chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Water and Sanitation, I am in Bronkhorstspruit in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, to receive updates on the condition of affected residents and the healthcare response following the consumption of water suspected to have been contaminated and linked to the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works.

#Bronkhorstspruit
#Health
#WaterAndSanitation

— Paul Mashatile🇿🇦 (@PMashatile) October 26, 2026

City of Tshwane calls on independent water tanker operators to present themselves for verification before assisting with the distribution of water. @CityTshwane https://t.co/JwYWNXyQAT

— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) October 26, 2026