Bryanston residents fed up with water woes
Ward 103 councillor says residents will be forced to do a petition if Johannesburg Water continues to ignore her plea to replace ageing pipes bursting monthly on Ballyclare Drive and Hobart Road.
Residents along Ballyclare Drive and nearby Hobart Road in Bryanston are grappling with ongoing water disruptions, as repeated pipe bursts continue to damage property, disrupt businesses, and frustrate the community.
Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackleford visited the site with the publication on April 10.
Shackleford said the issue has been ongoing since she first took office in 2021. “In 2021, on the night of the elections, painting a picture, I had my first massive pipe burst on this road. I hadn’t even signed in as a councillor yet.
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“Now, we’re in 2026, if you see here, and just further up the road, we’ve had two bursts within a space of 10 days. This road and Hobart Road, which is just further down, we have pipe bursts regularly.
“This pipe is a patchwork. It has damaged walls, it has nearly killed a family pet, which is just further down, and it has flooded complexes. People don’t want to live in complexes where they don’t have water for three to four days. People are losing money, as businesses and shopping centres are affected.”
Shackleford added that, despite repeated submissions through integrated development plan (IDP) and engagement with Johannesburg Water (JW), there has been no progress towards ageing infrastructure. “I have submitted it in all my IDPs through my term, begging Johannesburg Water to hear my plea to get this pipe replaced. I know the senior management at the Zandfontein depot. I have submitted it, but nothing.
“I’ve written a question to council and they don’t seem to be taking me seriously. The next step is going to get the residents to do a petition, so maybe that will make them be heard about the ongoing water issues from Hobart to Ballyclare. This is a monthly issue. Johannesburg Water needs to step up.”
In response to these concerns JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said they conducted multiple assessments of the pipelines along Ballyclare Drive and Hobart Road, which have consistently confirmed that the recurring failures are due to ageing infrastructure.
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“The pipelines are constructed from asbestos cement material that has exceeded its design lifespan and is now structurally compromised. Under these conditions, pipe bursts are an inherent and unavoidable consequence of operating infrastructure that has reached the end of its service life. This is a long-standing and well-documented condition.”
Shabalala added that a formal submission for the replacement of the affected pipelines has already been made to the planning department, and forms part of the capital infrastructure pipeline.
“Johannesburg Water has therefore completed the required administrative and technical processes to advance the project beyond reactive repairs. It must be noted that infrastructure replacement is governed by budget availability, city-wide prioritisation, and approval processes.
“Given the scale of ageing infrastructure across Johannesburg, implementation is phased and cannot occur simultaneously across all affected areas.
The Ballyclare and Hobart infrastructure has been duly recorded and prioritised within this broader programme.”
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