A burst pipe in Johannesburg is fixed by whoever owns that side of the water meter. Johannesburg Water owns the connection pipe and the meter. Everything on your side of the meter is your water installation, and the city's by-laws make you maintain it at your own cost.
That split matters most at night, because only one of the two sides has a call centre that will send a team. The other side is yours, and the meter keeps running until somebody closes a valve.
Whose pipe is it?
The pipe belongs to the city up to and including the meter, and to the property owner after it. The City of Johannesburg Water Services By-laws define the "water installation" as the pipes and fittings on a property that are vested in its owner. Section 38(1) says an owner must provide and maintain that installation at their own cost.
The connection pipe is different. Its ownership is vested in the council, which installs it. Section 23(3) makes the council liable for maintaining any meter and its valve, even where the meter sits inside your boundary. The owner still has to protect the meter, and pays for damage to it beyond fair wear and tear.
So a jet of water from the pavement before the meter is a city fault. A wet patch in the lawn between the meter and the house, a split pipe in the ceiling or a burst geyser feed is yours.
What does a leak on your side cost?
All of the water it wastes. Section 34 of the by-laws says a consumer is not entitled to a reduction for water wasted or lost in a water installation. A pipe that runs from 11pm until a plumber arrives at 8am is billed in full, and the extra kilolitres are charged at the higher steps of the City's stepped water tariff.
The by-laws also put a duty on you, not just a bill. Section 45 says no consumer may let pipes in a water installation leak, and that an owner must repair or replace any part that is in disrepair. If that does not happen, a designated officer may issue an enforcement notice.
The timing this month makes it worse. On 21 October Johannesburg Water asked residents to cut consumption, saying high demand was straining bulk supply and reservoir storage. Level 1 restrictions are in effect, and the utility warned that areas with high water losses may face targeted supply restrictions. A leak left running on private property is exactly the loss it is asking people to stop.
What to do in the first fifteen minutes
- Close the stop-cock on your side of the meter. The by-laws require every consumer to have one inside the property boundary, but older properties do not always, and it may be buried under paving or a pot plant. Find it now, not at midnight.
- If the stop-cock will not close, or the leak is before the meter, close the valve at the meter itself only if you can do it without damage. The meter is the city's property and you pay for damage to it.
- If the water is near a plug point, a geyser or the distribution board, switch off the power at the board. The burst geyser checklist has the order for a geyser.
- Photograph the leak, the meter reading and any damage before anyone touches it. Your insurer and, if you rent, your landlord will want both.
- Report a fault on the city's side to Johannesburg Water. Its contact page lists the call centre on 086 056 2874 and fault@jwater.co.za for water incidents. Write down the reference number. A fault that was never logged was never reported.
- For your side, call a plumber who can come tonight, not tomorrow.
Choosing the plumber at night
The by-laws put the repair on you, and the pressure of a running meter makes people hire whoever answers first. Ask two things before they arrive. Is the plumber registered with the PIRB, South Africa's plumbing registration board, which you can check on the PIRB register in a minute, and will they give you a written price before they start?
In a sectional title scheme the line moves again: pipes serving more than one unit are the body corporate's, and the trustees cannot meet at 2am. The after-hours repair rules for bodies corporate set out who may authorise the work.
Arabella Infrastructure Solutions is a Johannesburg-based building maintenance and construction company, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, that sends registered plumbers to burst pipes on your side of the meter. That includes public holidays. Call or WhatsApp 078 497 3616 and you get a written quote before work starts. The homeowners page has the detail.
Tonight, before anything bursts, walk out to the meter with a torch and find your stop-cock. If it is seized or buried, that is the first job to book.
