Jukskei River reportedly turns red in Alexandra, children warned

Residents in Alexandra have been urged to keep children away from the Jukskei River after reports that the water has turned red.

The warning was shared early on Friday, 25 September, by the Facebook page Paarl Crime, Incidents in SA And Traffic INFO, citing News On The Go. The post said the cause of the unusual discolouration had not been established and that the substances in the water were unknown.

Picture: Paarl Crime, Incidents in SA And Traffic INFO / Facebook

‘Children are urged not to swim in the river, touch the water, play in it, or allow the water to come into contact with their bodies until the situation has been investigated,’ the post said.

At the time of publication, no official City of Johannesburg or Johannesburg Water statement confirming the cause of the discolouration had been located. The report should therefore be treated as an alert rather than confirmation that the water has been found to contain a specific contaminant.

The Jukskei River has a long pollution history

The concern comes against a difficult environmental backdrop for the river. The Department of Water and Sanitation has previously described the Jukskei as heavily polluted, with untreated waste entering the watercourse because of infrastructure problems.

The river’s changing colour has also been reported in Alexandra before. In 2024, community activist Janky Matlala told Sunday Times that the water had appeared red, blue, yellow and pink at different times, which he attributed to chemicals entering the river.

Community groups have continued working to address the pollution problem, including the Alexandra Water Warriors, who have been involved in river clean-ups and waste-removal projects.