Pool Leak Detection
Pretoria North
Pool leak detection, Pretoria North: start with a bucket on the step, because the first question is whether the pool is leaking at all or just losing water to a hot week.
Request a call-out
Where pools leak, and how each is tested
The fittings, the pipes underground and the shell each leak differently.
A pool loses water three ways: evaporation, splash-out and leaks. The bucket test separates the first two from the third. Stand a bucket of pool water on the first step, mark the level inside the bucket and on the pool wall, run the pump as usual and compare after a day or two. If the pool has dropped more than the bucket, it is leaking.
Then it is narrowed down. Repeating the test with the pump off and on shows whether the loss is in the plumbing. Dye shows where water is drawn out at a crack, a light, a return or the skimmer, and the pipes between the pump and the pool can be pressure-tested on their own.
The pump and filter are checked too: a leak at the pump, the filter lid or the backwash valve shows as a wet pump area rather than a falling pool.
A falling pool you are not allowed to keep filling
Tshwane's water restrictions turn a slow leak into something you have to solve, not top up.
Tshwane says its Level 1 water restrictions were never withdrawn. They include a plain instruction: do not fill swimming pools from the municipal supply. Since September 2025 the City's wording allows topping up by hand only where the pool has a cover that prevents evaporation, and it warns of fines and restricted supply for anyone who ignores the rules.
The strain on supply is real. In August 2026 the City reported use of 932 megalitres a day, 265 megalitres above its permitted limit, and in February 2025 the Wonderboom Reservoir, which feeds Pretoria North, was named among Tshwane's four highest-consuming reservoirs.
Meanwhile the ground works on the shell. A clay tested at Onderstepoort, beside Pretoria North, shrank by about a fifth as it dried, and most of Pretoria's rain comes in summer thunderstorms between November and March. A shell set in ground that swells and shrinks with the seasons can crack, and so can the joints where the pipes leave it.
Even the suburb's own pool was not spared: the Pretoria North Swimming Pool was closed for about seven months in 2023 for what the City called extensive leak repairs, with resurfacing and new tiling, before it reopened in January 2024.
Backwashing has its own rule. Pool water may only go into the drains on your own property, never into the street or a stormwater drain (Sanitation By-laws, section 29). A pool that needs constant backwashing and topping up is costing you twice.
Before you top up, run a two-day bucket test. If the pool loses more than the bucket, the water is going somewhere it should not, and a cover will not fix that.
Source: City of Tshwane, water restrictions, 27 August 2026 · City of Tshwane, water restrictions, 18 September 2025 · City of Tshwane, high-consuming reservoirs, 17 February 2025 · Ofer and Blight, swelling clay at Onderstepoort, 1985 · Geological Survey, Geology of the Pretoria area, 1977 · Rekord, Pretoria North swimming pool reopens, 2 February 2024 · Tshwane Sanitation By-laws, 2014
Pool leak cardCheapest test first
Bucket test
Evaporation ruled in or out, with the readings written down.
Pump on, pump off
Shows whether the loss is in the plumbing or the shell.
Fittings
Skimmer, returns, lights and main drain dye-tested.
Pipes
Suction and return lines pressure-tested on their own.
Result
Where it leaks, what the repair is and its price, before any work starts.
If the leak is in the shell itself, you get photos of the crack before a repair method is chosen.
Tested in order, so you pay only for the part that leaks
Fittings, pipes and shell are separate tests with separate prices.
Pool leak bills climb when the search jumps straight to the most expensive answer, such as resurfacing the shell, before the cheaper fittings and pipes have been ruled out.
The tests run from the least invasive to the most, and stop when the leak is found.
The plumber behind Noord Plumbing has eight years of plumbing work in Pretoria North.
From a dropping pool to a level that holds
The cheap tests come first; draining the pool is a last resort, not a first step.
Bucket test
Two days with a bucket on the step. Send the readings with the request if you have them.
Narrow it down
Pump on and off, then the fittings dye-tested and the pipes pressure-tested.
Repair
The fitting, joint, pipe or crack repaired, priced and agreed first.
Prove the level holds
A second bucket test after the repair, so you can see the loss has stopped.
Pool leak questions
What pool owners ask before they reach for the hose.
How much does pool leak detection cost?
It depends on how far the testing has to go: a bucket test and fitting checks cost far less than pressure-testing every pipe. Published Pretoria guides do not give a reliable pool figure, so you get the price of the first round of tests before the visit, and the repair price once the leak is found.
How much water does a pool lose to evaporation?
It changes with heat, wind, shade and whether the pool is covered, which is exactly why the bucket test is used instead of a rule of thumb. The bucket sits in the same weather as the pool, so only the difference between them is a leak.
Am I allowed to top up my pool in Tshwane?
Not freely. The Level 1 restrictions still in force bar filling a pool from municipal water, and a hand top-up is allowed only for a pool with a cover that stops evaporation. Restriction levels change, so check the City's latest notice.
Can a pool leak damage my house or paving?
A leak near the house can soften the ground under paving and boundary walls, and clay soil that takes on water swells. That is a good reason to find a steady leak rather than keep topping up.
Is the leak fixed once it is found?
Fittings, joints and pipes are repaired as part of the job, priced once the leak is found. A crack in the shell may need a specialist repair or resurfacing; you get photos and the options before deciding.
My pool pump is leaking. Is that the same thing?
It is a different leak. Water at the pump, filter lid or backwash valve shows as a wet pump area, often with air in the pump basket. It is usually a seal or a fitting, and much cheaper than a pipe or shell leak.
Request a call-out
Tell us the job and leave a number, and the plumber calls you to talk it through.
Water where it should not be? Turn it off at the meter now. It is the cheapest part of any repair.
Pretoria North and the suburbs around it
From the Apies River west to Rosslyn, and from Onderstepoort down to the foot of the Magaliesberg.
North
Wolmer, Onderstepoort, Bon Accord, Hesteapark, Clarina, The Orchards, Klerksoord
East
Annlin, Wonderboom, Sinoville, Magalieskruin, Montana, Montana Park, Doornpoort
South
Mountain View, Park Town Estate, Mayville, Wonderboom South
West
Dorandia, Florauna, Tileba, Theresapark, Ninapark, Karenpark, Amandasig, Akasia, Chantelle, Rosslyn
Not sure your suburb is covered? Send the request anyway and say where you are.