One South African university drilled its own boreholes and spent R15.15 million on water because service delivery is so poor

• The University of Johannesburg spent R15.15 million on external water and bought its own water trucks and drilled boreholes to cope with deteriorating municipal supply in Johannesburg.
• The university's water consumption declined by 32.1% between 2015 and 2025, and a 'very significant number of days' occurred across all its major campuses where no water was supplied at all in 2025.
• UJ saved R74 million by using its own tankers instead of purchasing water commercially, and plans to schedule a comprehensive project for borehole rehabilitation and certification in 2026.