The Joburg municipality has opened 37 municipal pools for residents to enjoy this festive season, with plans for seven more before March. Here’s the full list, brought to you by Our City News, your service in city accountability. With the festive season holidays fast approaching, the City of Johannesburg has opened 37 of its 60 municipal swimming pools, with seven more slated to open before March 2026.
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.
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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. Region A: Diepsloot, Midrand and Ivory Park; two pools serving 879,462 residents* Region B: Northcliff, parts of Randburg and Rosebank; 13 pools serving 372,485 residents Region C: Roodepoort and Randburg; six pools serving 880,873 residents Region D: Soweto, Lenasia, Ennerdale and Orange Farm; 12 pools serving 1.2 million residents Region E: Sandton and Alexandra; four pools serving 559 958 residents
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