Water crisis continues across Northcliff, Linden, as recovery remains painfully slow
Residents in Northcliff, Linden, Emmarentia and surrounding suburbs are still battling an intermittent water supply as councillors question contingency planning, call for better communication and urge responsible water use while the system recovers.
Residents across wards 86, 87, 88, 99 and 117 endured an intermittent water supply for more than 48 hours following disruptions at the Eikenhof pump station, while planned maintenance affected the recovery of Johannesburg Water’s Northcliff system.
Councillors said recovery remains slow because reservoirs supplying the northern suburbs must first be replenished before water can reach higher-lying areas.
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Ward 88 councillor Nicolene Jonker explained that an electrical trip at the Eikenhof pump station halted water pumping into systems, which are Commando, Waterval and the direct feed to all Northcliff systems, for more than 12 hours, placing the system under severe pressure.
She said JW had informed her that once pumping resumed on July 17, Rand Water systems had to be refilled first before water could be distributed through the Northcliff system.
Jonker spent much of July 19 accompanying a Johannesburg Water tanker through Emmarentia and Roosevelt Park, helping residents fill bottles and containers while providing updates on the recovery process.
“We’re only really starting to see recovery now,” Jonker said, adding that officials were closely monitoring inflows into the Northcliff system as reservoirs slowly recharged.
Ward 99 councillor Hendrik Bodenstein urged residents whose water supply had already returned to use it sparingly, explaining that Johannesburg’s gravity-fed reservoir system depends on lower-lying areas reducing consumption so higher-lying suburbs can also receive water.
“If people in Linden and Roosevelt all continue using water, Northcliff simply won’t get water. You can’t keep poking holes in the bottom of a bucket and expect the bucket to fill,” he said.
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Bodenstein also criticised the lack of emergency water support for Linden, saying despite repeated requests, the suburb had not been allocated a water tanker while several neighbouring wards had received assistance.
“I asked for one tanker to be parked in a central place so residents could collect water, but that never happened. That’s deeply concerning because these disruptions are becoming more common and we need proper contingency plans.”
Linden resident Tiaan Schutte said the prolonged outage may have been avoided had the Eikenhof interruption not occurred before the planned maintenance.
He argued that reservoirs should have been filled ‘to the brim’ before maintenance commenced and said Johannesburg Water’s communication with residents remains one of the utility’s biggest shortcomings.
“Friday was the first time in many years that residents were given any statistics on the Northcliff reservoir.
JW has never been the best at communication, and that needs to change. An informed public is a calmer public,” Schutte said.
He added that councillors often become the target of residents’ frustrations even though communication failures originate with municipal entities.
@caxtonjoburgnorth Ward 88 councillor Nicolene Jonker discuss the issues of the water crisis and supplying a water tanker to affected areas. Video: Waydon Jacobs & Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica #LocalNews #TikTokNews #tiktoknews #BreakingNews #cityofjoburg #satiktok_sa #foryourpage #localnews #2026 #government #Northcliff #Waterissues ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North
Schutte said many Johannesburg residents have become accustomed to poor service delivery and are no longer surprised when major infrastructure failures occur, but he called on Johannesburg Water to improve its communication and planning.
Although water supply has begun returning across parts of the affected network, councillors warned that residents should continue using water responsibly while reservoirs recover to help restore supply to suburbs still waiting for their taps to run again.
JW was contacted via email and WhatsApp on July 19 for comment on the water outages and when systems will recover in affected areas.
The article will be updated once a response is received.
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