A broken sewer pipe in Pretoria East has been pouring raw sewage into the Moreleta River for months. A repair in March failed within weeks. For the MAP Forum, this is the river where it all began.
The Moreleta River is the M in MAP Forum. Our organisation grew out of efforts by residents and stakeholders to protect the Moreleta, Apies and Pienaars sub-catchments in Tshwane. So it is with real concern that we report that raw sewage is still flowing into the Moreleta from a broken pipe in Pretoria East, months after the problem was first reported.
What is happening
A sewer pipe near the river in Pretoria East has split in two, allowing raw effluent to pour into the Moreleta. Visitors describe brown sludge and white foam on the water. The leak was reported in 2025. The City of Tshwane carried out a repair in March 2026, but it failed within weeks. Leanne de Jager, the Democratic Alliance’s Gauteng spokesperson on environmental affairs and a member of the provincial legislature, called the repair a make-do fix and said sewage was running on either side of the pipe.
A recent oversight inspection by the party confirmed that the problem continues. Residents had already petitioned the government, describing the city’s inaction as unacceptable and unlawful and demanding the immediate repair of the leaking infrastructure and urgent containment measures.
The city’s explanation
The City of Tshwane says it is working on a permanent solution, but that the required remedial work falls under the National Environmental Management Act and needs prior environmental authorisation. While that authorisation is sought, the city says it has put temporary mitigation and containment measures in place. It has not given a date for the permanent repair.
The need for authorisation is real: work in and around a river can cause further damage if it is not properly planned. But for residents watching sewage enter the river week after week, it is difficult to accept that a permit process should take longer than the pollution it is meant to prevent. The law also places clear duties on the city to prevent and remedy pollution under both the National Environmental Management Act and the National Water Act.
Where the sewage goes
The consequences do not stop at Pretoria East. The Moreleta flows into the Hartbeesspruit and then into the Pienaars River catchment and Roodeplaat Dam, an important regional water source. From there, the water continues through the Pienaars and Crocodile rivers towards the Limpopo system. A tributary of the Moreleta also runs through the Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve, a 100-hectare protected area that is popular with families, walkers and birders.
Roodeplaat Dam is already under strain. A 2025 study found phosphorus and nitrate levels above permissible limits near wastewater outlets, feeding eutrophication, the excessive growth of algae and plants that degrades water quality. Every litre of raw sewage from the Moreleta adds to that burden.
The wider enforcement gap
The Moreleta leak is a local example of a national problem. In a parliamentary reply dated 24 June 2026, the Department of Water and Sanitation reported 96 active sewage pollution cases involving 53 water services authorities across all nine provinces. Of those, 53 were still under investigation and 42 had been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority. The prosecuting authority had decided to prosecute in only one case, and five had been concluded through plea and sentence agreements.
WaterCAN’s executive director, Ferrial Adam, has argued that fining municipalities does not solve the problem and that the individuals responsible must be held accountable, noting that huge volumes of sewage can enter a river before a case ever reaches court. De Jager has made a similar point: criminal cases are a backstop, not a fix, because communities may have been exposed to contaminated water for months or years before charges are laid. The department is pushing for legal reforms that would tighten the personal liability of officials.
What we are asking for
The MAP Forum calls on the City of Tshwane to publish a clear timeline for the permanent repair of the Moreleta sewer, to share the results of water quality monitoring downstream of the leak, and to explain what temporary containment measures are in place and how effective they are. We call on the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Gauteng environment department to use their enforcement powers to ensure the work is done urgently.
We also encourage residents to keep reporting. Photographs, dates and locations of spills are valuable evidence. A river that has given its name to a community forum deserves better than a make-do fix. It deserves to run clean again.
References
Pretoria News (IOL): Inspection confirms Moreleta River sewage spillage crisis continues unabated (6 July 2026): https://iol.co.za/pretoria-news/news/2026-07-06-inspection-confirms-moreleta-river-sewage-spillage-crisis-continues-unabated/
Daily Maverick: Gauteng’s rivers of filth, how broken pipes and sluggish justice poison waterways (13 July 2026): https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-13-gautengs-rivers-of-filth-how-broken-pipes-and-sluggish-justice-poison-waterways/
GroundUp: Pollution is killing Gauteng’s fresh water sources (March 2026): https://groundup.news/article/pollution-is-killing-gautengs-fresh-water-sources/