Water shutdown alert: Soweto, Joburg CBD residents to face 56-hour disruption

Johannesburg Water on Wednesday issued a customer notice warning Soweto and Joburg Central region residents of an impending water shutdown.

The utility said the disruption would begin on 10 October and end on 12 October.

“Rand Water will be diverting a G20 pipeline to allow for City Power’s construction of a power line for their Mondeor Substation,” the notice read.

According to the utility, the 56-hour diversion will enable City Power to establish an alternative power supply from the Mondeor Substation to Rand Water’s Eikenhof Pumping Station.

“A section of the bulk supplier’s G20 pipeline will be re-routed to tie into a recently diverted 900mm main at Mondeor Substation,” the utility added.

Affected areas

Residents in the following areas will be impacted by the disruption:

Soweto areas:

• Power Park
• Bushkoppies Wastewater Treatment Works
• SARS Office Park
• Orland Power Station Complex
• University of Johannesburg
• Moletsane
• Molapo
• Phiri
• Dhlamini
• Moroka
• Senaone
• Mapetla
• Tladi
• Jabulani
• Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital
• Jabulani Mall
• Jabulani Hostel
• Central Western Jabavu
• Mofolo South
• Central
• Zola 1
• Zondi

Central district areas:

• Winchester Hills
• Winchester Hills Ext 1 and 2
• Gillview
• Mondeor
• Suideroord
• Glenanda
• Meredale
• Meredale Ext 25

The utility assured residents that alternative water supply arrangements would be made for affected areas.

Residents are advised to prepare for the shutdown and make necessary arrangements to minimise inconvenience.

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Rand Water maintenance work

Rand Water in June embarked on an intensive maintenance work programme which lasted just over a month.

The maintenance which began on 22 June and was set to conclude on 29 July faced unforeseen challenges.

Despite assurances, the situation remained dire, with many areas experiencing dry taps, including Johannesburg, Soweto and neighbouring areas.

The project aimed to address deteriorating infrastructure and improve the province’s erratic water supply.

However, it finished a day later than it was supposed to and left many Gauteng areas struggling with low and sometimes no water supply.

Residents were left frustrated and seeking answers for weeks.

After the project ended, Johannesburg Water stated that full recovery of the systems was expected to take several days.

It said areas supplied by Sandton and Midrand reservoirs and towers would potentially take longer to recover.