Swimming pools in Gauteng

On dolomite, a leak is the owner's liability

Ekurhuleni's Dolomite Risk Management Policy is blunt: the municipality isn't responsible for dolomite risk on private property, and it won't rehabilitate sinkholes caused by leaking private services on private land. Its standard title condition for new townships on dolomite says the owner has no claim for damage caused by water from leaking private services or poor stormwater drainage on the erf. The policy also lets the City serve notice on a landowner to remedy a hazardous situation at their own expense.

In Tshwane, the City named leaking water, sewer and stormwater pipes as the main cause of the 61 sinkholes on its priority list in February 2025, including in Lyttelton Manor, Centurion.

What dolomite-aware pool design looks like

The national Department of Public Works' guidelines for building on dolomite (2003) were written for state land, not private homes, but they show what engineers worry about with pools. On low-risk dolomite they call for:

• Backwash water piped in HDPE to the stormwater or drainage system, discharging at least 20 m from the pool or any structure.
• Fully impervious paving for at least 5 m around the pool, with a channel to catch splashed water.
• No automatic water replenishment system.
• A dolomite specialist advising on where the pool goes.

Filling a pool under Johannesburg and Tshwane restrictions

Johannesburg Water's Level 1 notice runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 March 2027 and bans filling swimming pools between 06:00 and 18:00. When the City weighed Level 2 in late 2024, the proposal would have banned topping up pools with municipal water altogether, so a first fill or refill after resurfacing is best done early in the season.

In Tshwane, late October 2026 brought targeted overnight restrictions and supply problems in areas including Garsfontein, Elardus Park and Moreleta Park, and residents were asked to avoid filling pools. Johannesburg, unlike Cape Town, doesn't insist on building plans for a private pool, but your estate or HOA may, and dolomite stands may need engineering input regardless.