Johannesburg residents are set to begin the second week of January 2026 facing a severe water disruption, with a planned 54-hour maintenance shutdown by Rand Water expected to leave several key areas with limited to no supply.
The maintenance — part of the third phase of Rand Water’s system upgrades — is scheduled from Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 4:00 AM until Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 8:00 AM.
Johannesburg Water has warned that this work will critically impact water pressure across multiple systems.
“This 54-hour maintenance will be undertaken to replace a certain isolation meter in the Rand bulk supply pipes. During this time, affected Johannesburg Water systems will decline until empty, which will result in poor pressure to no water,” the utility stated.
“Direct feeds will be affected by no water for the duration.”
This comes as the city continues to recover from a recent water contamination alert in the CBD and Bez Valley, which has already shaken public confidence in Johannesburg’s tap water safety.
A double blow: Contamination and shortage
The planned outage follows closely on the heels of WaterCAN’s contamination warning, which revealed bacterial risks in parts of the Johannesburg CBD and Bez Valley.
In that report, WaterCAN’s Jonathan Erasmus urged residents to boil all tap water before use, warning that “this latest crisis goes to show that we do have a problem in the provision of potable water.”
Combined, the contamination scare and the 54-hour shutdown underscore Johannesburg’s fragile water infrastructure and deepening public concern over the city’s supply reliability and safety.
Areas affected by the 54-hour water outage
Residents in the following zones should prepare for a complete loss of water pressure or no water at all during the maintenance period:
- Meadowlands Reservoir and Direct Feeds: Meadowlands (all zones), Tshepo Themba, Dube, Central Western Jabavu, Mofolo, Orlando West, Zondi, Mmesi Park.
- Doornkop Reservoir and Direct Feeds: Dobsonville, Lufhereng, Protea Glen, Thulani, Doornkop, Slovoville, Tshepisong, Leratong Village.
- Bramfischerville Reservoir 1 & 2 and Direct Feeds: Braamfischerville, Durban Deep, Sol Plaatjies, Goudrand.
- Roodepoort Deep: Hamberg, Rand Leases, Discovery Ext.9, Roodepoort.
- Fleurhof Reservoir: Lea Glen, Fleurhof.
“Due to the interconnected nature of the systems, a secondary impact may occur in other neighbouring areas,” Johannesburg Water cautioned.
UPDATE: Northern Johannesburg also impacted
Late on Saturday, January 3, 2026, Johannesburg Water issued a system update confirming ripple effects in parts of Northern Johannesburg, including Randburg, Sandton, and Midrand.
According to the utility, these systems are still supplying fairly to adequately, but Water Demand Management measures — such as throttling and temporary outlet closures — are being implemented to stabilise the network and reduce losses amid high demand.
- Central System: Mostly supplying adequately, with some areas experiencing fair supply.
- Randburg System: Supplying fairly to adequately, with outlets throttled where necessary.
- Midrand System: Operating adequately, though some areas are on bypass due to high demand.
- Sandton System: Constrained but supplying fairly to adequately, with overnight throttling to assist recovery.
Johannesburg Water added that intervention ls are ongoing to assist recovery across all affected zoneals, urging residents in Northern areas to converse water where possible to prevent further strain.
A slow and lengthy recovery
The inconvenience will not end when pumping resumes on Thursday morning.
Johannesburg Water has indicated that it may take up to three to five days for water systems to stabilise and restore full pressure.
“Upon completion of the maintenance work, impacted Johannesburg Water systems will take 3–5 days to fully recover. Although direct feeds are the first to lose water, they are, however, the first to recover when pumping resumes,” the utility said.
This extended disruption highlights the fragile state of Johannesburg’s water infrastructure, already burdened by years of deferred maintenance and massive non-payment — including an R84 million debt owed by residents to Johannesburg Water and City Power.
What residents can do
To reduce the impact of the outage, residents are advised to:
- Store Water Safely: Fill clean, sealed containers for drinking, cooking, and hygiene before Tuesday morning.
- Use Alternative Supplies: Johannesburg Water will deploy roaming water tankers — check official channels for the nearest tanker points.
- Conserve Strictly: Avoid non-essential water use starting Monday evening.
- Stay Informed: Follow Johannesburg Water and WaterCAN updates for tanker schedules and recovery progress.
A City under strain
While necessary for long-term system stability, this planned outage will place immense pressure on thousands of households and businesses — compounding challenges from both infrastructure failures and recent contamination fears.
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