Overview
- The City of Tshwane lifted the precautionary boil-water advisory for Pretoria CBD after laboratory tests at Findlay Reservoir showed no detectable E. coli or total coliforms, a result announced on Saturday, 24 October.
- Municipal engineers traced the contamination to a broken sewer pipe in the Groenkloof Nature Reserve that spilled raw sewage into the Apies River and contaminated groundwater feeding the Fountains springs.
- City crews isolated the affected spring source, switched the CBD supply to Salvokop Reservoir, emptied and cleaned Findlay Reservoir, performed a chlorine shock treatment and flushed distribution pipes.
- An independent investigation into the wider Bronkhorstspruit water crisis is under way and the Bronkhorstspruit plant manager has been suspended, while the opposition DA says it will use PAIA to seek records alleging earlier test warnings were ignored.
- Water managers warn the system remains under strain from high usage and leaks—Rand Water has flagged heavy demand and Tshwane loses an estimated 35% of water to leaks—so residents should expect continued testing, repairs and intermittent tanker deliveries.