A Year Long Issue: Demand Immediate Repair of Sandton’s Broken Water Infrastructure

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am creating and signing this petition to formally call on the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water to take immediate, decisive action to a long-term resolution to a critical infrastructure failure that has left large parts of our community with ongoing water issues for more than a year. 

For more than a year, residents and businesses in Sandton—one of Johannesburg’s highest revenue-generating regions—have endured repeated and extended water outages due to an unresolved issue with a ruptures, main feeder pipe on Pretoria Avenue, Sandton between Rivonia Road and Katherine Street. 

This ruptured main feeder pipe on Pretoria Avenue—previously reported, allegedly temporarily repaired, and now broken again—continues to disrupt basic water supply to hospitals, homes, schools, and businesses. This is not the first time this issue has occurred, and it is now clear that short-term patch jobs and vague, if any, updates from Johannesburg Water have failed the residents of this city.

Despite numerous complaints, media reports, and ongoing pleas from affected residents and businesses, the response from the City of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water has been inadequate, evasive, and unacceptable.

We demand more than apologies. We demand action.

Water is a basic human right, enshrined in Section 27 of the South African Constitution, yet we continue to live under water rationing conditions in a city where we faithfully pay some of the highest rates and taxes in the country.

This is not just a service delivery failure—it is a crisis, as a result of absolute negligence, and it has become a health hazard, a financial burden, and a daily stressor for families and businesses alike. Residents have had to purchase water, rely on irregular tanker deliveries, and watch property values fall due to municipal inaction. 

We hereby call for:

1. The immediate repair and permanent resolution of the problem on Pretoria Avenue affecting Sandown, Strathavon, and surrounding areas.

2. An independent audit of Johannesburg Water’s handling of this issue over the past year.

3. A clear, transparent, and dated communication plan to keep residents informed of progress.

4. A public statement from the City Manager and Johannesburg Water CEO acknowledging the failure and committing to resolution by a fixed deadline.

5. Consideration of rate relief or rebates for affected ratepayers who have borne the financial cost of this breakdown.

Gillian Hagley    Contact the author of the petition