Rusty water leak damages estate wall
With no official statement or technical assessment from Johannesburg Water, residents say they are losing faith in the city’s ability to manage basic infrastructure concerns.
A water leak flowing from behind Ruimsig Country Club has residents of St Andrew’s Estate agitated saying the ongoing leak has not only damaged their perimeter wall but has now forced them to raise a special levy to cover repair costs.
The leak, which has been active for several weeks, releases a steady stream of discoloured, rust-tinged water that has begun to seep into private property. Despite repeated attempts by residents to report the issue, Johannesburg Water (JW) has yet to take concrete action.
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An employee from JW did make contact with the Roodepoort Northside and informed them that a team would be sent out to inspect the site on April 29. However, days later, no team has arrived, no update has been issued, and the leak continues.
In the absence of municipal support, residents have had to take matters into their own hands. They dug a trench along the edge of the property to try to redirect the water away from the estate’s boundary wall and out into the street in a last-ditch attempt to prevent further structural damage.
“For me, it’s not as bad,” one resident, Lucas Molea, shared. “But the unit on the corner has water coming up through the grass. For our complex, our boundary wall has damp damage. We now have to raise a special levy to fix it.”
There are soggy patches of grass and pooling water along the affected boundary. There are growing concerns that the rust in the water could indicate contamination or pipe corrosion.
The community is calling for immediate attention to the matter and urging JW to investigate the cause of the leak and determine whether it’s linked to a burst pipe, stormwater outlet, or an underground infrastructure issue, and to resolve it before more damage is done.
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At the time of publication, JW had not responded to further media queries regarding the leak, inspection timeline, or potential repair schedule.
