It's the kind of video that makes your stomach turn. A municipal sewage truck in South Africa, parked next to a stormwater drain, became the center of a furious debate after a video of its actions went viral.

The Krugersdorp News reported that the footage sparked immediate outrage from residents who believed they were witnessing illegal dumping in broad daylight.

@caxton.jhbwest Mogale City Local Municipality workers were caught on video allegedly dumping sewage on the corner of Windsor Street and Main Reef Road. #servicedelivery #fyp #dumping #mogalecity ♬ original sound - Caxton JHB West

The video was filmed by resident Neels Jooste, who, along with a local safety officer, confronted the workers on the scene.

"We asked why they were doing this and to identify themselves, but they did not," Jooste said.

Mogale City Local Municipality quickly denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson explained that workers were tending to a sewer blockage when rock debris clogged the tanker's suction pipe. She claimed the overflow seen in the video came from the blocked line upstream and stressed that "no effluent was discharged from the tanker."

For many locals, however, this incident is just a symptom of a much larger disease. The city is in the grip of a long-standing sewage crisis that has been unfolding for over a decade. 

A report from Africa in Fact revealed that by the end of 2024, of Mogale City's 22 sewer pump stations, half of them were broken, and two-thirds of its water treatment plants weren't working properly. This systemic failure threatens the nearby Cradle of Humankind, a UN World Heritage Site.

This problem isn't just happening in one city. It's a global issue. 

In Taiwan, authorities uncovered a massive scheme where 15 people were indicted for dumping over 1,100 tons of waste into city sewers. A Texas resident used his phone to capture footage of a Texas Pride Septic truck allegedly dumping waste into a manhole, sparking an investigation.

Across the Atlantic, England's environmental regulators are facing a lawsuit for failing to stop water companies from polluting waterways. One of those companies, Severn Trent, was recently slapped with a fine of over $2.4 million for discharging raw sewage into a river.

Do you worry about having toxic forever chemicals in your home? Majorly 😥 Sometimes 😟 Not really 😐 I don't know enough about them 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The anger and frustration from the public are clear. As one YouTube commenter put it, "We must regard our waters as sacred, absolute sacred and taking care of it using it with respect and gratitude."

Another captured the deep sense of loss, asking, "I wonder what the ancestors think of this? From Cradle to Cesspool."

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