A major pipe burst on Pretoria Avenue remains leaking, with water running down the street despite Johannesburg Water claiming to have attended to, and fixed, it.

Following escalations from Ward 102 councillor Bea Campbell-Cloete and residents, on March 22, Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala confirmed that they are aware of the leak, and have been attending to it. “We are attending a burst. We will isolate the line so that we can be able to do the repair.

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Customers or residents will not have water during the repairs.”

She added that the burst was the result of ageing infrastructure. However, fresh water continues to gush from the ruptured pipe, sending thousands of litres flowing wastefully down the street.

Pretoria Avenue has become increasingly known for recurring pipe bursts, with this being the third or fourth occurrence in recent years.

Campbell-Cloete explained that, at this stage, timelines from the entity remain unclear, which is unacceptable.

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“I am pushing for this to be prioritised as it is unacceptable. The new, still leaking, pipe repair also causes concerns and needs urgent prioritisation.

Johannesburg Water indicated that this will be investigated and repairs done, but no timeline was given. “

She added that, in a city already facing water shortages, the continuous loss of water due to infrastructure failure and slow response times is both irresponsible and avoidable.

“It is unacceptable that repairs can remain unattended for this long and entities, as well as the City of Johannesburg, are not aware of these or have no answers on when work will be completed.”

More questions were sent to Johannesburg Water. Their response will be published once made available.

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