By Thapelo Molefe
Johannesburg residents in several suburbs face days of low water pressure and possible outages as the city prepares for a 54-hour shutdown linked to critical Rand Water maintenance, with full recovery expected to take up to a week after pumping resumes.
Mayor Dada Morero was briefing the media on Monday on the final phase of maintenance at Rand Water’s Eikenhof Pump Station, scheduled from 04:00 on Tuesday, until 08:00 on Thursday. The work forms part of essential upgrades to bulk water infrastructure supplying large parts of the city.
Morero said the maintenance was necessary to secure Johannesburg’s long-term water reliability but warned that it would significantly reduce the volume of water entering Johannesburg Water’s network during the shutdown period.
Reservoirs expected to be affected include the Roodepoort Deep, Fleurhof, Doornkop, Meadowlands 1 and 2, Braamfischer and their associated direct feeds. As supply drops, reservoir levels will gradually deplete, which could result in intermittent outages or low pressure, particularly in higher-lying areas.
“Once maintenance ends and pumping resumes on 8 January, systems will not recover immediately,” Morero said.
He cautioned that Johannesburg Water’s infrastructure would require at least seven days to stabilise and fully recover.
The mayor said the city, Johannesburg Water and Rand Water had put contingency measures in place to reduce the impact on residents. These include pre-managing reservoir levels, deploying response teams, and supplying alternative water through stationary and roaming tankers during both the maintenance and recovery periods.
Morero said communication would be prioritised, with regular updates to be shared through ward councillors, official city platforms and customer notices.
“We acknowledge the inconvenience this maintenance will cause to households, businesses and institutions across Johannesburg. However, this work is essential to safeguarding the city’s long-term water security,” he said.
During the same briefing, Morero also addressed a recent cross-contamination incident in Bezuidenhout Valley, following a burst water pipe near a sewer manhole in late December. He said that sewage infiltrated the damaged pipe during repair work, prompting residents to report a sewage smell in their water.
As a precaution, affected households were instructed not to use the water, meters were removed, and tankers were dispatched. Water quality testing showed gradual improvement following extensive flushing of the system.
As of this past Sunday, only two of seven sampling points were still failing to meet minimum drinking water standards, with bulk dosing underway to ensure full compliance.
Morero said Johannesburg Water’s monitoring systems had helped contain the incident and reaffirmed the city’s commitment to maintaining national drinking water standards and its Blue Drop status.
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