WATCH: Leak of 7 years: Long-running water leak threatens Alberton Jukskei Club’s future
The Alberton Jukskei Club says it could be forced to close its doors if a long-running municipal water leak, which the club says first emerged in 2019, is not permanently resolved despite years of reporting the issue to the City of Ekurhuleni.
A seven-year-old leak damaging the grounds of the Alberton Jukskei Club has become an uphill battle. If not fixed soon, it may threaten the club’s future.
The club says the leak has flooded its grounds, damaged sports facilities, disrupted operations and continues to waste treated drinking water, placing severe financial pressure on the organisation.
According to club representative Deon van der Bergh, the leak first appeared in 2019.
Correspondence reviewed by the Alberton Record, spanning January 2023 to July 2026, documents years of complaints, follow-up emails and requests for intervention as the club sought a permanent solution.
Years of complaints
The earliest correspondence reviewed by the Alberton Record dates back to January 2023.
In an email dated January 16, 2023, city official Abram Moja informed the club that a 75mm galvanised water pipe had been repaired but leaked again when the water supply was restored.
He explained that the pipe had reached the end of its lifespan and needed to be replaced with a high-density polyethene (HDPE) pipe.
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However, the replacement reportedly could not proceed because the appointed service provider had not been paid.
Despite this, club officials continued reporting the worsening leak over the following years.
In February 2023, the club informed the city that pitches five to 18 were once again waterlogged.
@albertonrecord The Alberton Jukskei Club says it could be forced to close its doors if a long-running municipal water leak, which the club says first emerged in 2019, is not permanently resolved despite years of reporting the issue to the City of Ekurhuleni. Full story on albertonrecord.co.za
By June 2025, representatives warned that trees behind the pitches were beginning to rot and fall over, water was flowing into the road, and the adjacent netball court had been damaged.
In one of several follow-up emails, the club said repeated service requests had been logged, photographs and videos had been shared, and the matter had been escalated numerous times.
“Water is being wasted daily and causing damage to the property and pitches that can be avoided,” said Van der Bergh.
Situation reaches crisis point
On June 26, the club again appealed to the city, describing the situation as critical.
“The leak is completely out of control, with the majority of our pitches now underwater.”
The club warned that the flooding threatened its ability to host its school league, scheduled to begin in August.
Club pays to investigate leak
Van der Bergh said the club hired an excavator at its own expense to try to locate the source of the leak after observing that water appeared to be surfacing along the fence bordering Second Avenue.
Because the club’s grounds are lower than both the road and the municipal water infrastructure, he believes the leaking water is travelling underground before emerging on the Jukskei grounds.
Despite the excavation, the source could not be found because it appeared to lie beyond the club’s property boundary.
City team unable to find source
On July 4, a team from the City of Ekurhuleni arrived at the club at about 10:00 to investigate the leak.
He said municipal workers excavated the area where most of the water was surfacing but were unable to locate the damaged pipe.
However, once the excavation was completed, clean, clear water could be seen flowing through the rocks and soil from beneath the fence on the Second Avenue side.
The team later moved outside the property to investigate another leak in the road between the Jukskei Club and the neighbouring cricket club but was also unable to seal it.
Despite the excavation work, water continues flowing through trenches the club dug to divert it away from its sports courts.
He said members of the municipal team expressed uncertainty about where the water was originating.
“I believe this now requires an engineer to attend the site and carry out a thorough investigation,” he said.
Promises not fulfilled
He said municipal employee Themba and his team assured him they would return on Monday to backfill the large excavations, continue searching for the source of the leak and conduct water testing.
To ensure unrestricted access, he had already provided Themba with a key to the property.
However, when he visited the club on the evening of July 6, no one had returned.
“The excavated holes remained open, no further investigation had been carried out and no water testing had taken place,” he said.
Three courts damaged
Although appreciative of the city’s efforts to investigate the matter, he said the excavation work had damaged three of the club’s courts.
Speaking to the Alberton Record on July 9, he said the club accepted the disruption because it believed the excavation would lead to the leak being identified.
“Unfortunately, this has not been achieved,” he said.
He added that the excavated holes fill with water almost immediately after being emptied, which he believes indicates there is a continuous source feeding the leak.
Based on the location of the water and the way it flows, he believes the leak may originate from the main municipal water supply pipe beneath Second Avenue.
Because the road sits at a higher elevation than the club and the pipeline slopes towards the river, he believes the water is travelling underground before surfacing on the club’s property.
Club fears closure
He said the club has already spent significant money trying to locate what it believes is a municipal leak and cannot afford to continue funding excavation work.
He warned that unless a permanent solution is found, the club may be forced to close.
“We simply don’t have the money to keep hiring contractors to investigate what appears to be municipal infrastructure. We need the city to identify the source of the leak and implement a permanent solution before more damage is caused.”
The club has requested that the city urgently escalate the matter to its engineering department to conduct a thorough investigation.
City yet to comment
The Alberton Record emailed the City of Ekurhuleni on July 3 requesting comment on the matter.
After receiving no response, the newspaper followed up telephonically with municipal spokesperson Zweli Dlamini on July 8. Dlamini said he would revert once he had reached the office.
At the time of publication, no response had been received.
