Three Weeks Without Water: Joburg Residents Warned to Prepare for Major Outage Starting 30 June

Residents across Johannesburg are being advised to store water and prepare for a significant disruption to their daily lives, as Rand Water launches a massive 21-day water outage starting 30 June 2025. The city’s taps will run dry—or at least deliver reduced flow—until 21 July, due to planned maintenance designed to strengthen the city’s bulk water systems.

According to Johannesburg Water, the outage will affect large swathes of the city, including:

• Commando System (Hursthill, Brixton, Crosby)

• Lenasia, Randburg, Roodepoort, and Soweto Systems

• Crown Gardens, Eagles Nest, and Aeroton Reservoirs

The water supply will be completely cut off for the first 6 hours, followed by a 50% pumping capacity for 42 hours, and then increased to 80% for the remaining 19 days.

Why This Is Happening

The extensive maintenance follows emergency repairs to a critical bulk pipeline (F12/F39) completed on 21 May. Though those repairs were successful, Johannesburg Water said it would take time for the city’s supply systems to recover. This latest round of planned maintenance is meant to prevent future breakdowns and improve long-term reliability.

Rand Water chose this time deliberately—during the cooler months when water usage typically dips—to avoid disruptions during high-demand periods from August onward.

What’s Being Upgraded?

The maintenance work will focus on major infrastructure at Vereeniging, Zuikerbosch, and Zwartkopjes facilities. Valve replacements, pipe leak repairs, and cleaning operations are all scheduled. While the improvements are expected to boost the system’s resilience, they come at a short-term cost for residents.

Other Planned Disruptions

In addition to the 21-day outage, other maintenance projects will also strain the water system:

• 3 June: 10-hour shutdown for cleaning at Klipriviersberg, affecting Sandton, South Hills, Randjieslaagte, Linksfield, and Midrand systems.

• 30 June – 2 July: 48-hour pipe repair at Zuikerbosch affecting Eikenhof System (same areas as the major outage).

• 30 June – 2 July: Valve replacements at Zwartkopjes Station impacting Parktown, Berea, Forest Hill, Naturena, and others. Water supply will be completely cut for 50 hours in these zones.

What Residents Need to Know

Johannesburg Water has emphasized that full water recovery will not be immediate after maintenance ends. Areas served by Sandton and Midrand reservoirs, in particular, may experience extended periods of low water pressure or outages as the system regains capacity.

In the meantime, alternative water supply points will be set up across neighborhoods. However, the utility strongly urges residents to store enough water ahead of time to last for the most critical days.

“Please prepare by filling containers and tanks,” Joburg Water said in a customer alert. “We are committed to limiting the impact on residents, but your cooperation is essential.”

While the 21-day water outage is a serious inconvenience, Rand Water insists it’s a necessary move to avoid longer-term issues in Johannesburg’s aging infrastructure. Residents are encouraged to follow all alerts and updates, and to make water-saving plans early to avoid hardship during the dry spell.

Stay tuned to official Johannesburg Water channels for updated supply schedules and emergency water point locations.

Rand Water Maintenance Begins: Major Water Disruptions Expected Across Gauteng and Mpumalanga

{Source: The Citizen}

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