The City of Johannesburg's water catastrophe has dragged on for almost three weeks, and Soweto residents say the situation is dire.

On Monday, Johannesburg Water said reservoir levels in the city had declined and water towers were running empty. It blamed a high demand caused by hot weather.

The water utility said reservoirs serving Soweto, including the Meadowlands, Diepkloof, Braamfischer and Doornkop reservoirs, had no water or low water pressure, and many parts of the township were without water.

Daily Maverick spoke to residents in Protea, Soweto.

Tshifu Chauke said, "We have become used to being without water daily until 9pm. So, we normally stay up until 9pm to get water. If we are already asleep at 9pm, we have to get up because we do not have any water. We get water from the JoJo tank near our home. The problem is that there is no one to fill the tank when it runs empty."

Rebecca Seale, who has been living in the area for 12 years, does not have a tap in her yard. She relies on a nearby JoJo tank. Before the crisis, she got water from her neighbours' taps.

"The JoJo tank is filled every two days, but there are times when they fill the tanks daily," said Seale.

"Oh, it is tough," Seale said of not...