Municipal contractors worked through the night to ensure repairs to a burst water pipe in Newton Park were completed. The damaged water line left about 20,000 residents in Ward 7 without water for most of Tuesday. (Photo: Supplied) 
A significant water line in Newton Park was restored after municipal contractors worked through the night to repair the pipe that burst on Tuesday morning, 15 July 2025.
The damage to the 300mm diameter pipe caused flooding at the intersection of Cape Road and 2nd Avenue, and left residents of Ward 7 without water for most of the day.
On Wednesday morning ward councillor Brendon Pegram advised that while repairs were completed, the water supply would still be limited.
“We are in the process of restoring water supply to the affected areas. Water supply will be restored gradually to prevent any further damage or bursts.”
He said it would take some time for supplies to return to full capacity.
The massive leak caused pressure and supply problems for several neighbourhoods, including Newton Park, Mill Park, Greenacres, Perridgevale and Parsons Hill.
The burst pipe also caused a section of road to collapse. Municipal traffic services closed the damaged section on Tuesday and directed traffic around it.
Inspections and repair work
Further up the road, municipal contractors opened a manhole, seemingly trying to shut off the water supply to the intersection so that inspections and repair work could start.
Meanwhile, water was gushing up from below the surface, flooding the left lane of Cape Road towards the city centre, before disappearing into stormwater drains.
By Tuesday afternoon, repairs had stalled because of a new complication, said Pegram.
“The issue is more complex than initially thought. It appears the Wi-Fi network boxes have been installed over the water pipes, which is not permissible,” he told Daily Maverick.
Tuesday’s incident follows a string of water infrastructure failures across the city and comes just days after the metro described parts of its water system as “prone to failure” in a commissioned report.
In Lorraine — one of the metro’s fastest-growing suburbs — 24 pipe bursts were recorded in just six weeks, prompting an emergency public meeting and renewed warnings from engineers and residents. DM