An emergency water shutdown is in place in large parts of Johannesburg and several areas will be without water until Friday morning‚ Joburg Water spokesperson Isaac Dhludhlu said on Thursday.

Dhludhlu said the shutdown was due to a massive steel pipe on the corner of Joe Slovo and Abel streets having to be replaced‚ which could no longer be postponed.

“A massive 600mm pipe had to be cut into two parts and replaced with a new one‚” he told TimesLIVE.

In some parts of the city‚ water was cut off since Wednesday evening. Joburg Water said the shutdown was no surprise as it had communicated with residents and all stakeholders involved earlier this week.