Johannesburg Water fails Marquise Place resident
A Jukskei Park resident has faced over a month of relentless water and electrical failures, property damage, and unsafe living conditions caused by repeated pipe bursts.
Michaela Newey, a resident of Marquise Place in Jukskei Park, has voiced her deep frustration over ongoing water and electrical issues that have left her and her neighbours battling repeated outages and property damage.
Newey’s ordeal began on May 17, when a main municipal water pipe burst along her street, causing water to flood her driveway and garden. “It was early morning when I saw the water gushing out. Johannesburg Water (JW) arrived hours later, but by that evening, the old pipe section burst again, making things worse. My property was flooded again, and I felt helpless.
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“That night, the team had to come back because of the remaining pipe burst. Then, during the repairs, their excavator accidentally hit a power cable. That caused us to lose power in multiple homes. It’s been one problem after another.”
That was just the start, as the situation worsened with a major underground pipe burst on May 28. “Water flooded my property underneath the fence, pooling against the boundary walls. Despite reporting multiple times and following up with JW, they only isolated the pipe late the next day. My home was flooded for about 36 hours, and the drainage couldn’t cope, so I had to clear it manually.”
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Despite ongoing efforts, repairs remained incomplete. “They told us they couldn’t replace the last section of pipe because it ran under a fence post and driveway, and they’d need to bring in a team to assess how to do it.”
During this process, further damage occurred: a tree was uprooted, ripping out her electric fence, her water meter was damaged, and, yet again, the excavator hit a power cable, causing more outages. “The night after they left, the remaining unpatched pipe burst again. That caused a sinkhole in my driveway and made my fence and gate unstable. The repair team had to come back early the next morning to fix it, but the damage to my property is extensive – my driveway, gate, and fence are all compromised.”
And the power outages persist. “City Power temporarily rerouted our electricity, but the damaged cable still hasn’t been fixed. The trench they dug is still open and filling with water. The water level is rising every day, and now the cable is at risk of being submerged. I’ve reported this repeatedly, but nothing has been done.
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“It’s been over four days without water for more than 15 households. We’re living in dangerous conditions, and our properties are suffering because of these repeated failures.”
Newey’s history with the problematic pipe stretch is not new. She recalls incidents in October 2023 and August 2024, with the latter causing her driveway to collapse. “This has been a nightmare. We’ve been patient, but enough is enough. We need urgent action now.”
We approached JW and City Power for comment, but none was received before going to print.
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