Newtown
Last Johannesburg Water (JW) report: Tue 29 Sep 2026, 20:30. Water from Hector Norris Pump Station.
On 23 more days JW printed a warning. A typical reservoir or tower in the city had 4.
Your street may differ: each report covers a reservoir or tower and the area it feeds, and higher streets lose water first. What JW's words mean
Day by day
In 2026 so far: 42 days short of water for Hector Norris Pump Station, from 185 days with a report. A typical supply in the city, the median one (half had fewer), had 4 days.
Each square is a day, as JW reported it for a supply: a reservoir or tower that JW reports on. The number at the right is the month's days short of water.
In 2026 so far, JW reported Hector Norris Pump Station short of water on 42 days
3 March 2025 to 29 September 2026, from 281 days with a JW report.
- water as normal
- supplying fairly
- JW warned
- low, or weak in places
- short of water
- critically low
- shut for the night
- no JW report
- still filling in
JW's reported status of the reservoir or tower, not measured water at taps. Boards from March 2025.
Source: Johannesburg Water's System Update boards and notices, read by us. How this record is made.
Cite this figure
watersearch (2026). “In 2026 so far, JW reported Hector Norris Pump Station short of water on 42 days”. Data release 2026-09-29-318d9dca. https://watersearch.co.za/suburb/newtown#fig-year
The data as a table
| Month | Days reported | Days in record | Adequate or fair | Poor pressure in places, or low | Warning: no water may occur | Poor pressure to no water | Critically low | Overnight closure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | 18 | 29 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April 2025 | 13 | 30 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 13 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| June 2025 | 28 | 30 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| July 2025 | 24 | 31 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| February 2026 | 6 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| March 2026 | 20 | 31 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 29 | 30 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 30 | 31 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| June 2026 | 29 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 29 | 31 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 22 | 31 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 20 | 29 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
A day counts as short of water when JW's worst report for it that day was “poor pressure to no water” or “critically low”, as happening or expected (expected most often means higher streets). A warning that it may occur does not count.
Is anyone fixing it?
JW has posted no notice with an end date for Hector Norris Pump Station this year. Its last was for work that started in November 2025.
In short
The latest JW report on this site is from 29 September 2026; the site last read JW's website on 1 October. Hector Norris Pump Station was supplying fairly. This year Hector Norris Pump Station was short of water on 42 of the 185 days JW reported it. A typical reservoir or tower in the city had 4 such days. On Hector Norris Pump Station, half of its last 10 outages were over within 26 hours; the longest since March 2025 lasted 9.1 days. JW has posted no notice with an end date for Hector Norris Pump Station this year. Its last was for work that started in November 2025. None of the 16 passed end dates on its page was met.
Latest JW report
Hector Norris Pump Station, 29 September 2026: supplying fairly at 20:30 (JW: “Supplying fairly. Normal pumping”).
JW put it on its website 1 October 2026 at 13:40. JW's page for this board ↗ · JW's image of the board ↗
Also on OurPower ↗.
Where Newtown gets its water
JW links Newtown to one supply, Hector Norris Pump Station.
| Supply | System | How JW links it to Newtown |
|---|---|---|
| Hector Norris Pump Station | Central | Listed on JW's pages, as Newtown. Source 1 ↗ |
Outages
JW reported 20 outages on Newtown's supply since March 2025. The longest lasted 9.1 days. Every outage, with how long it lasted: Hector Norris Pump Station.
JW's end dates
JW posted 21 notices with an end date that list a suburb or system Newtown's supply feeds. Most name only suburbs, not the reservoir or tower, so the summary at the top uses only a notice that names the supply itself. By the stated time JW's boards showed the water back on none of the 16 end times that have passed. Each end date against what happened: Hector Norris Pump Station.
Up the supply chain
Newtown's supply is in JW's Central system.
On 29 September 2026, JW reported Hector Norris Pump Station supplying fairly
Where the water comes from, top to bottom, and what JW reported for each part on 29 September 2026. A suburb draws on every supply listed at once; JW does not say which street each one reaches.
Showing 29 September 2026, the last day in the record. Other days: 31 August 2026, 28 July 2026, 25 July 2026, 13 July 2026, 9 July 2026, 24 June 2026.
Bulk supply
JW's boards carry no status for Rand Water's stations.
Feeds Hector Norris Pump Station: stated by JW source ↗System
JW reported 1 of 16 supplies in it short of water; 2 had no report.
Supply
JW reported supplying fairly.
As printed: “13:10 Supplying fairly. Normal Pumping .”; “20:30 Supplying fairly. Normal pumping.”
In the Central system: listed on a JW page source ↗ Fed from Zwartkopjes Pump Station (Rand Water): stated by JW source ↗ Supplies Newtown: listed on JW's pagesSuburb
No JW report for taps. See the supply above: when it is supplying, a tap can still be dry, most often in higher streets.
JW's reported status of the reservoir or tower, not measured water at taps. Boards from March 2025.
Source: Johannesburg Water's System Update boards and notices, read by us. How this record is made.
Cite this figure
watersearch (2026). “On 29 September 2026, JW reported Hector Norris Pump Station supplying fairly”. Data release 2026-09-29-318d9dca. https://watersearch.co.za/suburb/newtown#fig-chain
The data as a table
| Part | What it is | Feeds | How we know | On 29 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zwartkopjes Pump Station (Rand Water) | Rand Water station | Hector Norris Pump Station | stated by JW | No JW status for it |
| Central system | System | JW's system page | 1 of 16 supplies short of water; 2 with no report | |
| Hector Norris Pump Station | Pump station | Newtown | JW's page or notice | supplying fairly |
Under strain
In 2026 so far, Newtown had 65 days under strain: days when JW reported any of its supplies low or worse, or warned that higher-lying areas may lose water. This is a wider count than days short of water.
The network is linked. When a supply runs low, the reservoirs and towers around it carry more. At such times JW's boards sometimes warn of “poor pressure to no water in higher-lying areas”: under strain, higher streets lose water first. JW does not say which streets those are.
What JW's boards cannot tell you
JW's boards report reservoirs and towers, so some things are not in this record:
- Whether water reaches your street or your tap.
- Which streets lose water first: JW warns of higher-lying areas but does not name the streets.
- Why a supply ran low, unless a JW notice gives a reason.
- Pipe bursts, tankers and valve work, which are not on the boards.
Source: JW's System Update boards and notices, read by us. The full list, and how this record is made.