Zola
Last Johannesburg Water (JW) report: Tue 29 Sep 2026, 20:15. Water from Zondi Reservoir.
Zondi: short of water on 18 days this year.
From 189 days with a JW report. A typical reservoir or tower in the city had 4.
At 13:20 JW wrote: “Outlet closed to be opened in the afternoon.”
Then supplying fairly, at 20:15.
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: 18 days short of water for Zondi Reservoir, from 189 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 Zondi Reservoir short of water on 18 days
3 March 2025 to 29 September 2026, from 285 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 Zondi Reservoir short of water on 18 days”. Data release 2026-09-29-318d9dca. https://watersearch.co.za/suburb/zola#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 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April 2025 | 13 | 30 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 2025 | 13 | 31 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| June 2025 | 28 | 30 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July 2025 | 24 | 31 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 | 7 | 28 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| March 2026 | 20 | 31 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| May 2026 | 31 | 31 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| June 2026 | 30 | 30 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| July 2026 | 31 | 31 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 20 | 31 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 20 | 29 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 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.
In short
The latest JW report on this site is from 29 September 2026; the site last read JW's website on 1 October. That day Zondi Reservoir had weak water or none at 13:20 and was supplying fairly at 20:15. This year Zondi Reservoir was short of water on 18 of the 189 days JW reported it. A typical reservoir or tower in the city had 4 such days. On Zondi Reservoir, half of its last 8 outages were over within 13 hours; the longest since March 2025 lasted 8.9 days. No JW notice we have read names Zondi Reservoir. None of the 9 passed end dates on its page was met.
Latest JW report
Zondi Reservoir, 29 September 2026: weak water or none at 13:20 (JW: “Outlet closed to be opened in the afternoon”), then supplying fairly at 20:15 (JW: “Supplying fairly”).
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 Zola gets its water
JW links Zola to one supply, Zondi Reservoir.
| Supply | System | How JW links it to Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Zondi Reservoir | Soweto | Listed on JW's pages, as Zola, Zola Ext.1. Source 1 ↗ Source 2 ↗ |
Outages
JW reported 8 outages on Zola's supply since March 2025. The longest lasted 8.9 days. Every outage, with how long it lasted: Zondi Reservoir.
JW's end dates
JW posted 9 notices with an end date that list a suburb or system Zola'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 9 end times that have passed. Each end date against what happened: Zondi Reservoir.
Under strain
In 2026 so far, Zola had 18 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.