The city faced challenges this week in meeting demand after the critical City Power Eikenhof substation, which supplies Rand Water's Eikenhof pump station with electricity, was tripped by lightning again at 8:45 pm on Monday.

Earlier this month, a similar event caused technical problems and water outages in suburbs for up to 10 days.

Nombuso Shabalala from Johannesburg Water stated that the systems affected by Monday's outage are back to supplying fairly normally.

However, the Crosby and Hursthill 1 and 2 systems still have low levels,  poor  pressure is expected, and Johannesburg Water continues to provide alternative water supply for affected areas

Most systems in Randburg are operating normally, with only the Linden 1 reservoir and tower, as well as the Waterval and Quellerina towers, experiencing erratic supply pressure and intermittent supply," Shabalala said.

Providing an update on the situation in Soweto, Johannesburg Water mentioned that most reservoirs and towers have"maintained stability, with only the Meadowlands and Zondi reservoirs slightly low.

This update coincides with Johannesburg Water flagging Rosettenville and the CBD as areas with high water consumption, urging residents and businesses to take immediate action to reduce consumption.

These areas fall under the Forest Hill reservoir, which is among the top 10 meters with the highest consumption.

The water and sanitation department confirmed that Minister Senzo Mchunu, along with his deputies David Mahlobo and Judith Tshabalala, met with a delegation from the city led by Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.

They received an update on plans to address water challenges and ensure future water supply sustainability in the metro.

The meeting on Monday was a follow-up to an engagement on the 5th of March 2024.

These technical interventions include repairs to leaking reservoirs and tower infrastructure, replacement of water pipes, replacement of domestic and large consumer meters, retrofitting and removal of wasteful devices, and enforcement of bylaws, including the removal of illegal connections and customer bypass connections.

These projects are at various stages of implementation, with some still requiring funding," the department said.

Mchunu stated that they are pleased that the system is starting to stabilize, although it is still generally low.

"There is evident hard work happening on the ground, focusing on areas that are heavily impacted, some areas have been severely affected for several days, but given the progress, stability is expected," Mchunu added.