Joburg wants households to pay 66% more to receive water

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has proposed a 65.6% increase for the water demand management levy charged to households each month from 1 July 2026. Currently, domestic users pay R65.08 (excluding Vat) monthlybeforethey open a tap, regardless of whether they are on conventional (postpaid) meters or prepaid ones. In its proposed tariffs for the 2026/27 financial year, it wants to increase this to R107.74 per month.

This levy was quietly introduced for residential (or what the city calls “domestic”) consumers as well as commercial and industrial ones in the 2017/18 financial year and hasn’t really received meaningful pushback from ratepayers. On implementation in that year, the approved tariff book did not even attempt to justify or motivate its existence. Joburg Water, which is battling to keep taps flowing across the city, uses this fee to help fund its infrastructure.

The city says the levy “is a fixed charge for each water connection to cover the network costs and cost of the base water installation over the lifespan of the meter, irrespective of the consumption”. Hilariously, the CoJ’s summary of proposed tariff charges for water, sewerage and sanitation services states that: “Demand Levy to be increased by 12.5%.” This is patently false. The only 12.5% increase in the water demand management levy is for commercial/industrial users.

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The increase in this levy for residential customers has been an eye-watering 194.5% in the last two years. Put simply, if this tariff is implemented as proposed, the water demand management levy charged to households will have basically tripled since 30 June 2025. Over the decade-long lifespan of this levy, residential charges are up 438.7% while for commercial users, the tariff is 175.9% higher.

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