Overview
- Rand Water stopped pumping from the Eikenhof system at 18:00 on 19 December through midnight on 21 December, creating a confirmed 54-hour outage window.
- Johannesburg Water listed widespread impacts across Soweto, including areas supplied by Chiawelo, Power Park, Jabulani/Doornkop, Zondi and Dobsonville, with higher-lying suburbs most prone to low pressure or dry taps.
- Tankers are being dispatched across affected neighborhoods, with an estimated fleet of about 80 vehicles, including 16 owned by Johannesburg Water, and published schedules to guide deployment.
- WaterCAN’s Dr Ferrial Adam says tanker supply remains insufficient and unsustainable for large-scale outages, raising concerns about minimum legal water access and the timing of the shutdown near Christmas.
- Level 1 restrictions remain in effect and residents are urged to store water and harvest rainwater, as officials warn reservoirs will take days to refill and note Phase One caused longer outages in parts of Midrand and the Commando system.