A leaking water valve on the corner of Sunbury Road and St Swithins Road in Melville has wasted fresh water for about six years, despite repeated reports and escalations to Johannesburg Water.

The leak was first reported on February 27, 2019, according to Neil Gooch of the Auckland Park Residents Association.

Gooch said the issue had been reported at least 25 times and shared in residents’ groups over the years. Several photographs and reference numbers have also been shared as part of the reporting trail.

The leak has become a long-running frustration for residents, who said it continues whenever there is a water supply. The length of time involved, he said, also reflected the time and effort residents and community representatives have spent trying to get the problem addressed.

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He said dozens of residents, the residents’ association executive committee, its chairperson, ward councillors, and committee members had spent more than 3 000 days dealing with the matter.

Gooch said the solution did not require a complicated intervention. “Do one of the simplest things required of any municipality and reliably fix the leak.”

Ward 87 councillor candidate Jonathan Thompson said a resident measured that the leak loses about 1.2 litres a minute, which equals about 51 840 litres a month.

Thompson said he first became aware of the leak in 2020 when he started working with the Auckland Park Residents Association. It was one of the very first valves that he had reported within his new role at the time. “We have been logging it, and I logged it countless times myself.”

Thompson said the issue was also escalated through an email thread by the residents’ association and ward councillor Kyle Jacobs. He wanted Johannesburg Water officials to visit the site with either himself or an association representative to provide a clear repair plan.

He said the valve could be an old cast-iron valve that may have cracked because of age and repeated operation. Thompson said the leak highlighted wider concerns around water losses and maintenance of Johannesburg’s water infrastructure. He questioned why a reported fault could remain unresolved for years while fresh water flowed into the stormwater system.

Melville Security Initiative operations manager and resident Danny Nunes said the leak had existed for as long as he could remember.

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“The only time it is not leaking is when the area does not have water. I think I have even managed to try and report that one a few times and I do not think anything has ever happened,” Nunes said.

Nunes said he recently visited the site and saw no signs of previous excavations or repair attempts. He said Johannesburg Water responded faster to other leaking valves in the area, with some already repaired and reinstated. He said the difference in response times raised questions about why some reported leaks were addressed while others remained unresolved for years.

The leak has become a point of frustration for residents and community organisations, who say the continuous flow of fresh water highlights the need for Johannesburg Water to investigate the fault and provide a clear repair plan.

Johannesburg Water acknowledged a media query on September 18 and said it forwarded it to the depot for an official response. Their response will be updated once received.

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