Iconic water company Thirsti has found itself in hot water with residents of Normandien, KwaZulu-Natal, where one of the company’s bottling plants is located.
The Sisonke Environmental Justice Network (SEJN) has objected to a Water Use Licence Application linked to the Thirsti bottling plant. The organisation has argued that the company has been operating without the necessary authorisation since 2015.
However, Thirsti has denied that the company has been operating unlawfully, and its managing director, Rob Hoatson, said the company has complied with all relevant legal requirements.
Thirsti began operations in 2015 and has become an iconic, dominant bottled water brand in South Africa.
It is the official hydration partner to top-tier SA sporting entities, including SA Rugby and the Springboks, the Comrades Marathon, and Cricket South Africa.
However, speaking in an interview on The Money Show, SEJN chairperson Lucky Shabalala said the organisation believes the company has been abstracting water for years without the Department of Water and Sanitation’s approval.
Shabalala explained that he is from Normandien, which is a deep rural area where you have commercial farmers and farm dwellers, and said the organisation represents residents in the area.
He said the company only applied for a water use licence in 2026, despite allegedly operating the bottling plant since 2015.
“All these years, to us, that means that they’ve been operating illegally without having a water use licence that has been granted to them by the Department of Water and Sanitation,” said Shabalala.
When told during the interview that Thirsti had already said it had a licence, Shabalala rejected the claim.
“I don’t think that they do have a licence because as I’m speaking to you now, they have applied for a water use licence,” he said.
“How can you apply for a water use licence that you have? That means you don’t have a water use licence. That is why you are applying for it.”
Shabalala also accused the company of failing to disclose any existing licence during engagements over the application process.
“We’ve been talking to them through emails about this application. They haven’t told us they have a water-use licence. So to me that is a lie,” he said.
Thirsti responds to the claims
Beyond the licensing concerns, Shabalala argued that local communities are not benefiting from the operation despite the company using groundwater resources in the area.
“But when they come, then they just bought the farm for themselves. No one in our community and no one surrounding Newcastle is benefiting from them using that water,” Shabalala added.
He also argued that groundwater resources are a public asset protected under South Africa’s National Water Act.
Shabalala further criticised the public participation process linked to the application, saying it excluded many local residents.
In response, Rob Hoatson, managing director of Thirsti, denied that the company has been operating unlawfully.
Hoatson said Thirsti has operated its Normandien plant since 2015 under a valid water use authorisation issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
He gave Thirsti’s water use authorisation number (2721 V31F1), which the Department of Water and Sanitation has issued.
He explained that the company submitted a new application because production volumes had increased over time.
“As production grew, Thirsti initiated an updated application to increase its abstraction volumes with DWS in line with statutory requirements,” Hoatson said.
Hoatson added that the application is supported by independent specialist studies in hydrogeology, hydropedology and freshwater ecology.
These studies have been signed off by professionals registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions in the relevant fields.
He added that a hydropedological assessment commissioned by the Department of Water and Sanitation concluded that increased abstraction “will not materially alter the current water table”.
Hoatson also said the process is being managed by environmental consultants GCS Water and Environmental to ensure compliance with legal requirements.
He also confirmed that comments submitted by the SEJN during the public participation period had been received.
“The comments lodged by the organisation during the legislated 60-day public review period have been acknowledged, and the appropriate response is being prepared as communicated,” Hoatson said.
He further noted that Thirsti is a member of the South African National Bottled Water Association, which requires members to hold a valid water use authorisation as part of its accreditation requirements.
