Water Truck Hire in South Africa

What a water truck does on site

Water trucks are support plant, but a site often stalls without one. Typical work includes:

• Spraying haul roads and platforms to keep dust down
• Adding water to gravel and soil layers before rolling
• Filling site tanks, mixers and curing ponds
• Washing down roads and wheel-wash areas
• Standing by with a hose for fire risk during dry winter months

On road and platform jobs the water truck works alongside a grader and roller, so all three should be planned together.

Water bowser hire versus water tanker hire

The terms overlap. Water bowser hire usually means a trailer or skid tank, sometimes towed by a tractor or bakkie, for smaller sites and farms. Water tanker hire usually means a rigid truck with a tank, a pump and a rear spray bar, from about 5 000 litres up to 18 000 litres or more. Bigger trucks need fewer refills but are heavier on soft ground. Some tankers are fitted with a water cannon or hose reel for washing and firefighting. Say which you need and whether you want spraying, delivery, or both.

What affects the cost of water truck hire

Most water trucks are hired wet, with a driver, and charged per hour with a minimum of several hours a day, or per load for delivery. Costs depend on:

• Tank size and how many hours a day the truck runs
• The distance to the filling point
• Whether the water itself is paid for, from a municipal standpipe or a borehole
• Diesel, standing time and transport to site
• A deposit or account for new customers

Potable water for drinking needs a clean, food-grade tank, so mention it up front. Municipal standpipe water may need a permit or meter.

Dust control and compliance

Dust from earthworks and haul roads is a nuisance to neighbours and a health risk to workers, and municipal by-laws and mine permits may set limits. Regular spraying is the simplest control. Plan the run: one truck may not keep up on a long haul road in hot, windy weather. Drivers need the right licence code and a PrDP for goods. Read our page on plant hire with operator for how wet hire works.

What to include in your request

• Say what the water is for: dust, compaction or delivery
• Give the tank size and hours per day
• State where the truck can fill up
• Note if you need potable water

Water Truck Hire on different jobs

• House plots and renovations: filling a pool or site tank and settling dust on a dry residential building site
• Housing estates and townships: watering internal roads before rolling and keeping dust off neighbouring homes
• Shopping centres, offices and schools: spraying a bulk earthworks platform and parking area during dry, windy months
• Factories, warehouses and logistics parks: bringing fill layers to moisture for compaction on a warehouse platform
• Roads, pipelines and civil works: spraying layer works ahead of the roller and damping haul roads beside traffic
• Mines and quarries: running dust suppression on haul roads, ramps and stockpile areas all shift
• Farms, dams and game lodges: delivering water to stock, filling tanks during drought and watering farm roads

Frequently asked questions

Water Truck Hire by province and city

• Gauteng
• Mpumalanga
• North West
• Limpopo
• Northern Cape
• Free State
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Eastern Cape
• Western Cape

• Johannesburg
• Pretoria
• Centurion
• Midrand
• Sandton
• Randburg
• Roodepoort
• Krugersdorp
• Randfontein
• Germiston
• Boksburg
• Benoni
• Kempton Park
• Alberton
• Vanderbijlpark
• Vereeniging
• eMalahleni (Witbank)
• Middelburg
• Secunda
• Mbombela (Nelspruit)
• Rustenburg
• Brits
• Klerksdorp
• Potchefstroom
• Polokwane
• Tzaneen
• Lephalale
• Kimberley
• Kathu
• Upington
• Bloemfontein
• Welkom
• Sasolburg
• Durban
• Pinetown
• Pietermaritzburg
• Richards Bay
• Newcastle
• Ladysmith
• Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
• East London
• Kariega (Uitenhage)
• Cape Town
• Bellville
• Paarl
• Stellenbosch
• George
• Worcester

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