This is a series of articles on the supply of water to Johannesburg, particularly the long-term viability of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
Week without water brings Joburg residents onto the streets
Areas supplied by the Commando system are among the worst affected by the city’s water crisis
By Seth Thorne
News | 26 October 2026
Is construction at the Lesotho Highlands Water project polluting rivers?
The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority will refer suspected pollution for testing
News | 16 October 2026
Durban and Joburg worst hit by water outages
These are the metros where long interruptions are most common
Chart by The Outlier. Text by GroundUp Staff.
Charts | 2 October 2026
Video: Joburg’s water crisis, explained
We unpack why taps are dry
By Seth Thorne and Ihsaan Haffejee
Video | 14 September 2026
Joburg mom’s R2.6-million water bill reversed after Public Protector steps in
JoburgCAN warns of a much deeper billing crisis in the metro
By Seth Thorne
News | 3 September 2026
Time to pay up: a look at municipal debt
More than R161-billion owed for electricity, water and taxes
Chart by The Outlier. Text by GroundUp Staff.
Charts | 17 July 2026
Water tankers everywhere in Joburg, yet surprisingly hard to find
Johannesburg deploys dozens of tankers daily during outages. We tried to find them
By Seth Thorne
News | 26 June 2026
Joburg watches R10-billion flow down the drain
Auditor-General publishes scathing report on City’s water management
By Seth Thorne
Brief | 24 June 2026
Water is so close, yet so far for this Joburg neighbourhood
Thembelihle residents struggle daily to get water, but they watch dozens of water tankers fill up and then drive past
Text by Seth Thorne. Photos by Ihsaan Haffejee.
News | 23 June 2026