Executive Mayor Dada Morero has warned residents of temporary water supply interruptions starting Tuesday, as Rand Water commences the third and final phase of its planned infrastructure maintenance programme.
The 54-hour shutdown, focused on the Eikenhof pump station and involving isolation valve replacements on key pipelines (F45, F39, F28, and F15), will run from early Tuesday, January 6, until Thursday, January 8.
Affected reservoirs include Roodepoort Deep, Fleurhof, Doornkop, Meadowlands (1 and 2), and Braamfischerville (also referred to as Bramfischerville). These supply western suburbs and parts of Soweto, potentially leading to low pressure or complete outages as reservoirs deplete.
Morero emphasised that bulk supply will be significantly reduced during the work. “After maintenance ends and pumping resumes on January 8, the system will not recover immediately,” he said, noting full stabilisation could take at least seven days.
Johannesburg Water will deploy tankers to affected areas and urges residents to store water and reduce usage. Neighbouring zones may experience secondary impacts due to interconnected systems.
The maintenance aims to enhance long-term reliability of critical bulk infrastructure.