- All municipal swimming pools will be closed by Monday 16 November, with no reopening date announced.
- A Pimville mother says private pools and water parks are too expensive and too far away for her family.
Families looking for an affordable escape from Johannesburg’s heat will have fewer options as the city shuts its municipal swimming pools because of a chlorine shortage.
The City of Johannesburg said all municipal pools would be closed by Monday 16 November and remain shut until further notice.
For Rebecca Ndlovu, a mother of two from Pimville Zone 4, the closure means losing a family outing she can afford.
She takes her children to the local municipal pool almost every weekend. It is close enough for them to walk, saving money on transport.
“It’s a place we use to bond as a family and also take a break from all the work stress and school stress,” she said.
Ndlovu said she pays R22 for herself and R7 for each child to enter. She makes sandwiches at home and spends about R50 on snacks and soft drinks.
“I only spend around R86,” she said.
Private swimming pools and water parks are beyond her budget because entrance fees are higher and getting there would cost extra.
“We will now have to stay home and binge on TV or sit under the shade because we can’t play around with water. We will be wasting water,” she said.
Acting community development director Mbulelo Bezu said the city understood that the closures would disappoint families and young people hoping to use the pools during hot summer days.
But keeping them open without proper chemical treatment would put swimmers’ health at risk.
“Operating unchlorinated pools is unsafe, so we made the difficult decision to close the facilities while we urgently resolve this supply chain disruption,” said Bezu.
The city said it had started emergency procurement processes to secure fresh chlorine supplies.
Once supplies arrive, technical teams will treat and test the water before swimmers are allowed back in.
Bezu said the city would provide daily progress updates, but no reopening date had been set.
Ndlovu hopes a solution comes quickly, saying many families in her area depend on public pools during hot weather.
“I also think that CoJ must always plan ahead especially when it comes to things like maintenance and supplies to avoid future challenges like this one,” she said.
