The disruptions will range from complete water outages to significantly reduced pressure over the three-week period.
Johannesburg residents will face significant water supply challenges from next week, with major infrastructure maintenance by Rand Water set to disrupt multiple systems across the city for 21 days.
The bulk water supplier will conduct extensive maintenance work on its infrastructure from 30 June to 21 July 2025. This will severely impact Johannesburg Water’s ability to supply normal water pressure and flow to large portions of the metropolitan area.
Multiple systems across Johannesburg will be affected simultaneously, including major areas such as Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Lenasia, Brixton, and several other residential zones.
The disruptions will range from complete water outages to significantly reduced pressure over the three-week period.
Alternative water supply arrangements
Johannesburg Water announced contingency measures to mitigate the impact on residents during the maintenance period.
“JW will make arrangements for alternative water supply at strategic points within the residential areas,” the utility stated.
However, residents should prepare for extended recovery periods beyond the maintenance window.
“Please note that after each maintenance has been completed, it will take maximum 14 days for the system to fully recover, and for normal water supply to return,” Johannesburg Water warned.
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Eikenhof system maintenance
The most extensive disruption will affect the Eikenhof System, which supplies water to the:
- Commando System covering Hursthill,
- Brixton and Crosby,
- Lenasia Systems,
- Randburg and Roodepoort Systems,
- Soweto Systems,
- Crown Gardens Reservoir,
- Eagles Nest Reservoir, and
- Aeroton Reservoir.
This system will experience a phased reduction in water supply beginning at 5am on 30 June.
The maintenance involves cleaning of a sedimentation tank at Rand Water’s Vereeniging Plant, which will halt pumping completely for the first six hours.
Joburg Water said the supply will then be restored to 50% capacity for 42 hours, before increasing to 80% for the remaining 19 days of the maintenance period.
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Pipe repairs at Zuikerbosch plant
A separate but simultaneous maintenance operation will address pipe leak repairs at Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch Plant.
This work, which affects the same areas as the Eikenhof System maintenance, will run from 5 am on June 30 until 5 am on July 2.
The repair work will follow an identical impact pattern, with no pumping for six hours, followed by 50 percent capacity for 42 hours, then 80 percent capacity for the duration.
Zwartkopjes system shutdown
The Zwartkopjes System faces a complete shutdown from 30 June at 5am until 2 July at 7am due to valve replacements at the Zwartkopjes Station.
This will result in no pumping for the entire duration of the maintenance work.
Areas affected by this shutdown include:
- Crown Gardens,
- Eagles Nest Reservoir,
- Parktown,
- Berea,
- Forest Hill,
- Alan Manor,
- Naturena, and the
- Hector Norris Pump Station.
The overlapping maintenance schedules mean that some areas, particularly Crown Gardens and Eagles Nest Reservoir, will experience disruptions from multiple systems simultaneously, potentially compounding the impact on residents in these locations.
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