Questions raised about water truck usage after fatal incident

Until this week, taps had been dry since mid-June in a section of Adams Mission, south of Durban. Photo: Tsoanelo Sefoloko

• Celani Zungu, a resident of Adams Mission, south of Durban, was killed on the weekend after being run over by a municipal water truck.
• Residents say that tap water, which they had not had since mid-June, returned to their homes the following day.
• Municipal water truck drivers have illegally sold water in Adams Mission for years.
• The municipality says the availability of running water is determined by various factors, including water reservoir level, water pressure levels and “system stability”.

Residents of Adams Mission, just south of Durban, say a man was struck and killed by an eThekwini Municipality water truck on Sunday, 2 August.

The incident happened after residents had confronted the driver, accusing him of running out of water because he had been selling it illegally to people to fill their private tanks, residents told GroundUp.

Sakhile Zungu, the brother of the deceased, Celani Zungu, said his brother was not involved in the confrontation with the driver but was a bystander who went to see what was going on. He died in the hospital from his injuries shortly after being admitted, said Sakhile.

“My brother was the breadwinner of the family. He drove taxis around here and made sure that he put food on the table.”

eThekwini spokesperson, Senzele Mzila, confirmed to me that the driver has been suspended.

Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the KZN SAPS spokesperson, said that the investigation is in its early stages. He said it is not being investigated as a hit-and-run because the driver didn’t run away and they were able to get his comment.

Municipal trucks selling water

Residents say tap water returned to their homes the day after the incident, for the first time since mid-June. This has raised questions about the causes of the outages in parts of the town and the continued use of water trucks.

eThekwini spokesperson Luthando Ngubane said, “The availability of the water is determined by various factors such as water reservoir level, levels of extraction, water pressure levels and system stability.”

Everyone GroundUp interviewed about the incident and water issues wished to remain anonymous as they fear reprisals.

Residents say the illegal sale of water is so rife that municipal water trucks have begun to prioritise only households that are willing to pay. Drivers take orders through WhatsApp and phone calls. They sell 2,500 litres for R250 and 5,000 litres for R500.

GroundUp reported on water sales in Adams Mission in 2024. Then water appeared to be only sold by unmarked private trucks contracted to the municipality. We traced one such truck to Multi Solutions Trading, a company contracted by the municipality, and informed the municipality of its illegal sales in May 2024.

The municipality said it would investigate. GroundUp spent five months trying to get further information from the municipality, which failed to provide any evidence of an investigation.

Municipal records show that in September 2024, six water truck companies had their contracts extended by two months. Multi Solutions Trading was the only previously contracted company excluded.

The sale of water is now only done by water trucks with municipal branding, according to residents we interviewed this week.

We followed one truck on the main road. We saw it pass several residences before stopping at a house. When we questioned the homeowner, she said she bought water from the driver for construction work on her property.

We sent a photo of the truck’s licence plate and details of the sale to the municipality. They did not directly acknowledge receiving the picture.

In August 2024, the municipality released a statement that it would eliminate the need for hiring additional water trucks by procuring 100 more of its own. It is unclear how many of these trucks were procured.

Municipal water truck drivers will often only give free water to those who have spare containers after already buying water, residents told us.

There are now whole roads that were previously given free water from water trucks that haven’t received anything without paying for years.

One resident told us that she frequently pays for water deliveries to fill up her 2,500-litre tank because she has no alternative.

Every municipal truck that delivers water to her has the same decal on the side, warning that selling water is illegal, with a phone number to report incidents.

“Nothing is done when complaints are lodged,” she said.

Ngubane said the municipality has not used privately owned water tankers since October 2025. Water is only delivered to households that have “amongst other exceptional reasons, suffered a bereavement or is hosting a function that will be attended by large numbers of people. This is done for health and safety reasons,” she said.

Ngubane said the municipality takes allegations of the illegal sale of municipal water seriously and urged that all incidents be reported to the municipality.

A municipal water truck we found selling water.

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