Joburg opens 37 pools for festive season — here’s the full list

With the festive season holidays fast approaching, the City of Johannesburg has opened 37 municipal swimming pools, with seven more slated to open before March 2026.

Twelve swimming pools are non-operational and will not open, while two others are complete but not yet operational.

Ellis Park and Newclare are Olympic-sized pools. The Linden, Ellis Park, Pimville, Pioneer Park and Coronationville pools are heated. During the 2023/24 swimming season, a total of 423,729 residents used the city pools, which dropped to 411,345 in the 2024/25 season.

The city’s budget for the maintenance and running of the pools this financial year is R9.1-million.

City officials say their major concerns with the swimming pools include water pressure and a lack of water in certain areas. Vandalism, theft of infrastructure and ageing facilities requiring ongoing maintenance, and upgrades are also areas of concern.

The impact of flooding and other environmental factors on filtration and pump rooms, as well as swimming pools, is also problematic. As an example, a retaining wall is being built at the Orlando facility to prevent rainwater from washing soil into the pool.

Across the city’s seven regions, this is the status of municipal pools.

Open and shut: The lowdown on Joburg’s pools

Region A: Diepsloot, Midrand and Ivory Park; two pools serving 879,462 residents*

• Rabie Ridge pool, Stilt Avenue — open.
• Ivory Park, Freedom Drive — completed, not yet operational.

Region B: Northcliff, parts of Randburg and Rosebank; 13 pools serving 372,485 residents

• Riverlea, Ashburton Street — open.
• Coronationville, Dordrecht Street — open.
• Roosevelt Park, corner of Muldersdrift and Preller roads — open.
• Windsor East, Viscount Avenue — open.
• Linden, 4^th Avenue — heated and open.
• Verity Park, 14^th Street Parkhurst — open.
• Blairgowrie, Conrad Drive — open.
• Ochse Square, Albertsville — open.
• Newclare, Steytler Street — to open later in the season.
• Robin Hills, Cherry Drive — open.
• Vrededorp, 13^th Street — non-operational.
• Windsor West, Princess Avenue — closed, and not reopening.
• Kensington B, Abington Street — open.

Region C: Roodepoort and Randburg; six pools serving 880,873 residents

• Florida Lake, Florida — open.
• Florida North, Ontdekkers Road — open.
• Roodepoort, Exner Street — open.
• Little Falls Resort, Falls Road — open.
• Davidsonville, Edward Mitchell Street — non-operational.
• Cosmo City — new project, not open.

Region D: Soweto, Lenasia, Ennerdale and Orange Farm; 12 pools serving 1.2 million residents

• Diepkloof, Imminik Street — open.
• Dobsonville, Nonhlanhla Street — open.
• Jabavu, Mangeni Drive — to open later in the season.
• Jabulani, Isikwama Street — to open later in the season.
• Moletsane, Mokhatla Street — open.
• Meadowlands, Motswedi Street — to open later in the season.
• Noordgesig, North Street — open.
• Orlando, Ngiba Street — to open later in the season.
• Pimville, Motjatji Street — open.
• Power Park, cnr Chris Hani — open.
• Senaoane, Mabalane Street — to open later in the season.
• Klipspruit Splash Pool, Mofokeng Street — open.

Region E: Sandton and Alexandra; four pools serving 559 958 residents

• East Bank, Alexandra — open.
• Paterson Park, Orange Grove — open.
• Sydenham, Dunvegan Street — open.
• Zoo Lake, Parkview — non-operational.

Region F: Inner city, Southgate, Fordsburg and Mayfair; 13 pools serving 716,282 residents

• Moffat Park, Southern Klipriviersberg Road — open.
• Southern Suburbs, Oakdene — to open later in the season.
• Crown Gardens, Ulster Crescent — open.
• Forest Hill, Golf Street — open.
• Rhodes Park, Ocean Street — open.
• Ellis Park, Doornfontein — open.
• Turffontein, Eastwood Street — non-operational.
• Brixton, High Street — non-operational.
• Pioneer Park, Rosettenville Road — open.
• Hofland Park, Bez Valley — open.
• Malvern, Marathon Street — not yet opened.
• Yeoville, Rocky Street — not yet opened.
• Robertsham, Urma Road — closed, not reopening.

Region G: Drieziek, Eldorado Park, Ennerdale, Finetown, Kanana Park, Lakeside, Lawley, Lenasia, Nancefield, Orange Farm, Stretford Extensions, Vlakfontein, and Zakariyya Park; 10 pools serving 800,015 residents

• Eldorado Park Ext 9, Vincent Road — open.
• Eldorado Park Ext 4, Heerengracht Street — open.
• Lenasia Ext 2, Olifant Street — open.
• Lenasia Ext 10, Shari Street — open.
• Lenasia South, Wimbledon — open.
• Lenasia Ext 5, Gazelle Avenue — closed, not reopening.
• Ennerdale, Ext 9, Katz Rd — totally vandalised, closed, not reopening.
• Orange Farm Ext 6, Link Road — totally vandalised, closed, not reopening.
• Drieziek — new project, not open.
• Eldorado Park Proper, Goud Street — closed, not reopening.

How to access Joburg’s swimming pools

Pools are open from Tuesday to Friday between 10am and 6 pm, and on weekends from 9 am to 5pm.

They will also be open on Mondays during school holidays, from 9am to 5pm, but will remain closed on Mondays outside of the school holidays.

Entry fees start at R7 for children and R21 for adults. You can also buy season tickets. Enquire at your local pool for more details.

All Joburg’s municipal pools will be closed on 25 and 26 December, as well as 1 January 2026. They will close at 1pm on 24 December and 31 December. DM

*These are City of Johannesburg 2019 population figures. Information on the swimming pools and their status comes from the city’s official list circulated to councillors.

This article is produced by Our City News, a non-profit newsroom that serves the people of Johannesburg.