Swimming pools in KwaZulu-Natal

Keep the shell clear of servitudes

Durban's Building By-laws, still published by eThekwini, have a section on "swimming baths": any pool, plunge pool or paddling pool holding more than 2,500 litres and over 450 mm deep. If the pool relies on the surrounding soil for sideways support, as an in-ground shell does, no point of it may be closer to a servitude boundary than one and a half times the pool's depth at that point. A pool 1.6 m deep at one end would need that end at least 2.4 m from the servitude line.

The City Engineer can allow a smaller gap if other measures make the pool stable. On a small stand with a sewer or stormwater servitude across the garden, this rule can decide where a pool fits at all.

• Ask the builder to plot every servitude from your title deed and approved site plan before designing.
• If the pool has to sit closer, ask who will engineer and motivate the alternative.

Filling from a borehole needs consent

eThekwini's Water By-law, 2023 says you may not use water from a source other than the municipal supply to fill a swimming pool without the municipality's prior consent. To get it, you must show that the water meets the SANS 241-1 drinking-water standard and isn't a health risk, and the consent can be withdrawn if the water stops complying.

That matters because a borehole or rainwater tank is the obvious answer when municipal supply is unreliable. Get the water tested and the consent in place before you plan to fill from it.

Time the fill around the supply

eThekwini's bulk water was rationed in March 2026, with reservoirs on the Southern Aqueduct and around Pinetown on limited pumping hours. In early October a pump failure at uMngeni-uThukela Water cut supply to eThekwini by about 50 megalitres a day, affecting areas fed by the Northern Aqueduct and Mount Moriah Reservoir, and later that month restrictions were imposed on areas including Pinetown South and Washington Heights.

A new pool or a resurface ends with a full fill. If your area is on restrictions, ask the builder when they'd fill and whether a tanker delivery is an option.