Please find attached soundbites in English by Johan Pieterse
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- Brits residents left without water beyond the 72-hour shutdown period communicated by Madibeng Local Municipality.
- The Brits Water Treatment Works upgrade began in 2010 at R380 million and has since escalated to R845 million.
- After 16 years and hundreds of millions of rand spent, residents continue to face recurring water interruptions and prolonged shutdowns.
The Democratic Alliance in Madibeng is demanding answers and accountability for the continued water-supply failures and prolonged shutdowns at the Brits Water Treatment Works, leaving residents across Brits without water.
The latest planned 72-hour shutdown began on 12 August 2026 for further civil, mechanical and electrical work at the treatment plant. However, water was only restored on 16 August, beyond the timeframe initially communicated to residents. By 11:00, the majority of Brits was still without water as the system and reservoirs had yet to recover.
This cannot continue to be accepted as normal service delivery.
The Brits Water Treatment Works upgrade has been ongoing since 2010, when it was initially budgeted at R380 million. Due to project delays, the cost escalated to R845 million. By September 2023, approximately R693.18 million had already been spent, yet the project remained incomplete.
Official Magalies Water documentation presented to Parliament records that the project was intended to refurbish and upgrade the existing Brits Water Treatment Works, increase treatment capacity from 60 megalitres per day to 80 megalitres per day, upgrade the raw-water pump station and pipeline, improve treatment processes, upgrade distribution infrastructure to the bulk reservoirs, and ultimately benefit approximately 75,373 households.
Yet, despite this enormous investment, residents continue to experience recurring interruptions linked to pump failures, leaks, flooding, reservoir levels, maintenance and ongoing upgrade work.
Successive completion deadlines have also been missed, including targets for November 2023, August 2025 and March 2026.
The DA is not opposed to necessary maintenance or repairs. Our concern is the frequency and duration of these interruptions after 16 years of upgrades and hundreds of millions of rand in expenditure.
Residents deserve answers:
- Why has the project that commenced in 2010 still not delivered reliable water security?
- How did the cost escalate from R380 million to R845 million?
- Why have successive completion deadlines repeatedly been missed?
- What exactly has been completed with the hundreds of millions already spent?
- Why are prolonged shutdowns still required for repairs and upgrade work?
- When will residents finally receive the reliable water service they are paying for?
The DA will formally pursue these questions with Madibeng Local Municipality and the relevant authorities.
After 16 years and an R845 million project, residents are entitled to more than another promise.
As part of our Working for All Manifesto 2026, we are committed to getting water flowing by reinvesting funds directly into fixing broken pipes and failing pumps and partnering with skilled private companies to ensure expertise and reliability where municipalities fail.