A split sewer pipe in Pretoria East continues to discharge raw sewage into the Moreleta River, highlighting widespread infrastructure failures across Gauteng. Water quality tests show unsafe bacteria levels in most rivers and dams. Criminal cases against municipalities move slowly through the justice system.
The leak was first reported last year. It was repaired in March but the fix failed weeks later. Raw effluent now flows around the pipe into the waterway.
Leanne de Jager, the Democratic Alliance’s Gauteng environment spokesperson, described the repair as a temporary measure that has done nothing. WaterCAN executive director Ferrial Adam noted recurring patterns of brief fixes followed by renewed deterioration.
A WaterCAN report from December 2025 found unsafe coliform bacteria in 21 of 23 tested rivers and all five dams in Gauteng. The Department of Water and Sanitation opened 96 criminal cases nationwide for sewage pollution as of a 24 June parliamentary reply. Only one case has reached prosecution.
Adam said the absence of consequences allows pollution to continue. De Jager added that criminal cases serve only as a backstop after communities have already been exposed to the contaminated water.