Sunninghill’s water crisis deepens as old pipes fail: Joburg Water has no answers
Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy is demanding urgent intervention from the water utility after repeated water outages, pipe bursts and sewage overflows have left parts of the suburb without water for days.
Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy has called for an urgent meeting with Johannesburg Water Zandfontein depot, and Region A Crum. This is as Sunninghill battles what he described as an ‘ever-growing problem’ of burst pipes, sewage overflows and unexplained water outages due to ageing infrastructure.
For the past three weeks, residents have faced near-daily disruptions, with the situation worsening sharply for five days at a time. Reddy said Peltier Drive had been without water for five consecutive days recently.
Read more: Raw sewage leaks into Klein Jukskei River as residents await Johannesburg Water response
He said he had repeatedly appealed to the water utility to replace the ageing AC pipes in Sunninghill, specifically along Peltier Drive, Marise Turn and Airdlin Road, which he believed are at the heart of the constant failures.
“Despite many walkabouts, including the last one in June 2025, and despite my submission for pipe replacement being forwarded to planning or contracts, I have had no feedback.”
He added that the infrastructure in the area was old, and Johannesburg Water teams often found themselves fixing the same pipes repeatedly. “If they calculate how much money goes into fixing the same burst over and over again, it would probably add up to the same budget constraints they complain about. So why not save money and replace them? That is the permanent solution.”
Also read: Lonehill resident battles four-year water leak
Tracy Kensey from Sunninghill Rate Payers Association has written to Johannesburg Water requesting a meeting with all divisions to address what she described as perpetual leaks, bursts, re-repairs and low or no water pressure across the suburb.
“The situation on Peltier Drive has worsened as excavation work to locate the fault has caused additional damage to an AC pipe, affecting Masstores’ head office, other nearby businesses and two residential complexes whose fibre inspection boxes have flooded,” she said.
“Excavations have also destroyed fibre supply to businesses and damaged security camera infrastructure on both sides of the road.”
In response to a media query, Johannesburg Water’s Nolwazi Dhlamini said, “We are liaising with the relevant depot to get more information for you.
“We will respond within our standard turnaround time of 48 hours, depending on the complexity of the matter and the input required from relevant technical departments.” No comment had been received at the time of going to press.
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