Planned water supply maintenance for 12 to 19 September

11 September 2026

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will conduct planned work in the identified areas, which may result in water supply disruptions. This critical maintenance work is being done on our water supply infrastructure to benefit customers. Residents in the affected areas are encouraged to take note of the work that will take place and prepare accordingly.

Maintenance work, including pipe and valve installations, repairs and replacements

Residents are advised to store enough water in advance as a precautionary measure. Water should be stored in clean, sealed containers. This precaution does not guarantee that all residents will experience a water disruption, but it aims to ensure they can prepare if one does occur.
 
Planned maintenance work will result in a water supply disruption to these areas:
 
Parts of Langa

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will shut off the water supply to parts of Langa temporarily on Saturday, 12 September 2026, from 09:00 until 16:00. This will allow the maintenance team to safely replace faulty fire hydrants on the water supply mains in Njoli Avenue and Moshesh Avenue in Langa. These streets and possibly surrounding streets will experience no water during this period. Consumers are encouraged to store water in advance in clean, sealed containers for domestic use. A water tanker will be made available to provide water for domestic use where required during this period.

Parts of Crawford and Lansdowne

The City will shut off the water supply to parts of Crawford and Lansdowne temporarily on Sunday, 13 September 2026, from 09:00 until 16:00. This will allow the maintenance team to safely replace faulty fire hydrants on the water supply mains in Lawson Road between Jan Smuts Drive and Riversdale Road in Crawford and Riversdale Road, between Kendal Road and Hay Road in Lansdowne. These streets and possibly surrounding streets will experience no water during this period. Consumers are encouraged to store water in advance in clean, sealed containers for domestic use. A water tanker will be made available to provide water for domestic use where required during this period.

Parts of Paarden Eiland

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will shut off the water supply to parts of Paarden Eiland on Sunday, 13 September 2026, from 08:00 until 16:00. This will allow the maintenance team to safely replace faulty control valves on the water supply mains on the corner of Shropshire and Marine Drive Service Road, on the corner of Marine Drive Service Road and Nautilus Street, and a faulty fire hydrant in Marine Drive Service Road. These streets and possibly surrounding streets will experience no water during this period. Consumers are encouraged to store water in advance in clean, sealed containers for domestic use.

Gordon’s Bay and Somerset West

The City will shut off the water supply to parts of Somerset West and Gordon’s Bay temporarily from 08:00 on Monday, 14 September until 08:00 on Thursday, 17 September 2026. This will allow the maintenance teams to urgently replace a critical valve on the 840mm-diameter bulk water pipeline and another on the 810mm-diameter bulk water pipeline. Gordon’s Bay will receive water, but at lower-than-normal pressure, Bakkerskloof and Helderspruit will be supplied by the Smuts Reservoir while Dennehoek and Lynn’s View will be supplied by the Wingerd Reservoir, which has approximately 36 to 48 hours of storage capacity. Water tankers will be made available for domestic consumption if required.

Parts of Fish Hoek

The City will shut off the water supply to parts of Fish Hoek temporarily on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, from 08:30 until 19:30. This will allow the maintenance teams to safely switch over from the water supply main to the temporary water supply bypasses along 16th Avenue, 15th Avenue, 14th Avenue, 13th Avenue and a portion of Nelson Road. The work forms part of the pipe replacement project in the area. These streets and possibly surrounding streets will experience no water during this period. Consumers are encouraged to store water in advance in clean, sealed containers for domestic use.

Part of Factreton

The City will do a test shut-off of the water supply to a part of Factreton on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, from 10:00 until 15:00, to allow the maintenance teams to safely determine the condition of the control valves between Dapper Street and Factreton Avenue, Factreton. Thirteenth Avenue and possibly surrounding streets will experience no water during this period. Consumers are encouraged to store water in advance in clean, sealed containers for domestic use. 

Rondebosch East and part of Lansdowne

The City will shut off the water supply to Rondebosch East and a part of Lansdowne temporarily on Thursday, 17 September 2026, from 09:00 until 12:00. This will allow the maintenance team to reroute an alternate water supply to these areas as part of the preparations to install a bypass on the 535mm-diameter water main. The section of the 535mm-diameter pipeline between Sir Alfred Road and Kritzinger Road will be shut off for this purpose. Consumers in these areas will then experience lower than usual pressure from Thursday, 17 September 2026 at 09:00 until 18:00 on Saturday, 19 September 2026.

Leak detection in Burgundy, Sybrand Park and Ndabeni

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will be conducting visual leak detection in Melkbosstrand, Thornton and Welgemoed Lower from Monday, 14 September 2026, until Friday, 18 September 2026, from 09:30 until 15:00. Leak detection is one of the water demand management interventions for saving water and reducing water loss through leaks.

• A leak detection team will be walking in the streets to identify potential leaks and check all pipe contact points such as valves, water meters and fire hydrants.
• All leaks will be reported to the relevant depot for repairs.
• Residents are advised that there will be no disruption to water during this exercise.

Residents are advised to store water in advance as a precautionary measure in clean, sealed containers for domestic use during this period.

Zero-pressure tests (ZPT) and conditional assessments will be done on the water supply network, resulting in water supply disruptions in the following areas:

• Tuesday, 15 September 2026, 10:00 to 17:00: Camps Bay, Clifton, Gardens, Oranjezicht and Tamboerskloof.
• Wednesday, 16 September 2026, 11:00 to 16:00: Bo-Kaap, Gardens and Tamboerskloof. 
• Wednesday, 16 September 2026, 09:00 to 16:00: Martinville (Bizweni). 
• Thursday, 17 September 2026, 09:00 to 16:00: Low-lying areas in Khayelitsha. 

Residents are advised to store water in advance as a precautionary measure in clean, sealed containers for domestic use during this period.
 
Zero-pressure testing and step-testing are part of the installation process for zone management infrastructure. Tests are done in advance to see if any unmapped inflows need to be considered before installing new infrastructure (such as pressure-reducing valves for pressure management).
 
In these affected areas, some residents may experience low water pressure while some may have no water during the testing period. Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict which exact areas or streets will experience disruptions. 
 
Additional zone management investigations will be carried out to ensure that the existing infrastructure is operating effectively. Pressure fluctuations may be experienced, but every effort will be made to minimise the impact as far as possible.
 
This work forms part of the City’s Water Demand Management Strategy. Managing water pressure more effectively reduces the possibility of pipe bursts and water wastage.
  
Residents are advised to store water in advance as a precautionary measure in clean, sealed containers for domestic use during this period.
 
The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience.

What residents need to know about larger-scale planned water supply disruptions:

1. Careful consideration has been given to the planning of this work to ensure it is being done at a time that is least disruptive to the water supply.
2. All sites where water and sanitation repairs and upgrades are conducted are deemed to be construction sites and, as such, are off-limits to members of the public.
3. Sometimes the maintenance work can be more complex than anticipated, which means the work could take longer.
4. For a short period after the supply has been restored, the water may be discoloured or look milky. This is because of trapped air in the pipes. If left to stand in a glass, the appearance will become clear, like normal.

For updates on the maintenance work (and location of tankers where applicable), follow @CityofCTAlerts which is a City of Cape Town X account.

How residents are advised to prepare for planned water supply disruptions:

1. Store enough water in clean, sealed containers in advance for use during this period.
2. Keep your taps closed to prevent any water loss and/or damage when the water supply is restored.