Residents on Vine Avenue in Ferndale are increasingly frustrated as a persistent water leak continues to waste large amounts of water, with no permanent solution in sight.

For months, water has been continuously pumping from a burst pipe and flowing down the road, creating concern among residents who believe the ongoing leak is both wasteful and unacceptable, especially at a time when water conservation should be a priority.

According to resident Kelene Watson, the issue has been reported and escalated on numerous occasions. Although teams from Johannesburg Water have attended to the site several times, the leak remains unresolved.

Read more: Joburg Water struggles to locate leak on Kelly Avenue

Residents are left confused and disappointed, as they have received little to no information about why the problem has not been permanently fixed, despite repeated interventions.

In an effort to investigate the source of the leak, Johannesburg Water dug up a section of the affected area to expose the underground pipe.

Safety netting was installed around the excavation site to protect pedestrians. However, residents claim that the leak has worsened since the excavation work was carried out.

Watson explained that this is a problem that’s been troubling them for months.

“We drive past here every weekend, and we see the water running down the road. I escalated it, and the entity came, but it’s not working. It’s worse. We recently had a water shutdown, and we were told to use water sparingly, yet water goes to waste like this.”

Also read: No solution for a 2 year leak on Kelly Avenue

Ferndale Residents Association chairperson Erica de Jager has expressed concern about the entity attending bursts in the area, while thousands of litres of water continue to be lost daily.

“Every time we report the leak, they take forever to come out. We have more leaks around the area, with two that have been leaking for four years. They are just everywhere.”

@caxtonjoburgnorth Water continues to leak on Vine Avenue despite Johannesburg Water’s attempt to repair the burst. Photo: Mthulisi Lwazi Khuboni #caxtonlocalmedia#newsupdate#Localnews#Communitynews#southafricatiktok🇿🇦🇿🇦#johannesburg#Servicedelivery#2026#Randburg♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

Residents are now calling on Johannesburg Water to provide clear answers and urgently implement a lasting solution to stop the leak and prevent further water loss.

Questions were sent to the entity.

They noted the enquiry and promised to revert within their standard turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours, depending on the complexity of the matter and input required from the relevant technical departments.

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