Tshwane issues tap-water warning after 408 residents fall ill

Residents near South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, have been advised not to drink or cook with tap water after 408 people, most of them children under four, became ill following exposure to contaminated water.

The cases were reported in Tshwane, the metropolitan area that includes Pretoria, after residents sought medical care for stomach cramps and diarrhoea over a two-week period, officials said.

No deaths have been reported, but elevated levels of E. coli were detected in the water.

Tshwane has experienced repeated waterborne disease outbreaks in recent years. In 2023, 29 people died in a cholera outbreak in the township of Hammanskraal, just outside Pretoria.

That outbreak was linked to inadequate water-treatment practices.

In 2025, authorities confirmed 48 cases of typhoid in the same area east of Pretoria. The source of those infections remains unclear.

No cholera bacteria were detected in the recent cases.

The departments of water and health said in a joint statement on Monday that 408 cases had been recorded between 7 and 18 October in five townships.

Laboratory tests indicated that the illnesses resulted from exposure to contaminated water supplied by a local treatment facility serving several communities east of Pretoria.

Samples contained norovirus, Campylobacter, Shigella and other pathogens that can cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea, officials said.

Early investigations found that local authorities had not warned residents about the contamination.

The water has been declared unfit for human consumption, and residents have been urged to use it only for flushing toilets. Tankers have been dispatched to provide clean drinking water.

Officials advised residents to discard any previously stored water and disinfect water containers using household bleach.

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