Water law of south africa

Water Law in South Africa
By :
School of Water Resources, IIT Kharagpur
Manas Ranjan Panda
16WM60R04
M Tech(Water Engineering
and Management)
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Contents
Introduction
History
Salient Features
Conflicts
Comparison with Indian Policy
Conclusion
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INTRODUCTION: OVERVIEW OF THE
NATIONAL WATER ACT
Why is the National
Water Act important?
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The National Water Act is
important because it will
put in place those things
contained in the South
African Constitution that
are about water.

INTRODUCTION: OVERVIEW OF THE
NATIONAL WATER ACT
 What are water resources?
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Introduction: Overview of the National
Water Act
 What is the difference between the National Water Act
and the Water Services Act?
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• Why the name National Water Act, 1998?
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Introduction: Overview of the National
Water Act
‘National’ means that it applies to the whole country. An
‘Act’ is a law passed by Parliament. The National Water Act
is thus a law about water, which applies to the whole of
South Africa. It was approved by Parliament in 1998.
Benefits:
1. Water belongs to all people
2. Participation
3. Water resources protected and managed as a whole
4. Sustainable use for the benefit of all

History
Water Law Cases:
Water courts were established by colonial legislation; were consolidated in the
Irrigation Act, 1912; and were abolished by the National Water Act, 1998. From
1912 to 1969 many water court cases were reported in South Africa, but these
reports have been out of print for many years. Other cases on water law are
scattered in the general law reports.
In 2004, Advocate Maritza UYS collected and
edited the 1970-98 water court cases and
other supreme court cases on water law,
under the title Water Law of South Africa 1970-98
(WRC Project No K8/544).
In 2006 she collected and edited the 1912-69 water court cases and other
supreme court cases on water law under the title Water Law of South Africa
1912-69 (WRC Project No K8/622).
http://code-spot.co.za/test_fj/1/hello-world/
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History
Water Law Legislation:
• Part 2 of Water Law of South Africa 1912-98 contains the original
texts of the two general water Acts which were current during the
period, namely the Irrigation and Conservation of Waters Act 1912
(Act 8 of 1912), and the Water Act 1956 (Act 54 of 1956). The 1956
Act repealed the 1912 Act and the 1956 Act was in turn repealed
by the National Water Act 1998 (Act 36 of 1998).
• Part 2 also includes the texts of the Acts which amended the 1912
and 1956 Acts, and the main Regulations issued under those Acts.
• From these texts, one can therefore reconstruct any provision in
the Act and regulations as it was at any date in the past.
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History
Water Law Literature:
• It has been many decades since any publication was devoted
exclusively to South African water law. Water law literature
is now to be found only in general publications or as articles
on selected topics in law journals.
• Therefore Part 3 of this work lists the South African water
law works published from 1912 to 1998, and also other
water law works noted in water law cases.
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History
Water Services Act 1997
In 1994 the government published its first White Paper on
Water and Sanitation Policy, which led to the Water Services
Act of 1997
Free basic water policy (2001)
Durban was the first South African city to introduce a
policy of free basic water in 1998. After Thabo
Mbeki became President of South Africa in 1999 and a
cholera outbreak occurred in 2000, the African National
Congress promised free basic water during a municipal
election campaign in December 2000.
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History
Management contract for Johannesburg and pre-
paid meters
 Participation with private sector since 1994
 5 year management contract
 First introduced in Johannesburg
 Not renewed after 2005
Basic Sanitation White Paper (2001)
In response to the fact that access to sanitation lags significantly
behind access to water, the government published its White Paper on
Basic Household Sanitation in 2001.
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History: Water Crisis
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Salient Features
There are 17 Chapters in the National Water Act
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Salient Features
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Salient Features
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Salient Features
Purpose and principles of the national water act
Who is responsible for the nation’s water resources?
1. National government acting through the Minister of Water Affairs and
Forestry is the public trustee of the nation’s water resources.
2. National government through the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry (DWAF) must ensure that water is protected, used, developed,
conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable and equitable manner
for the benefit of all persons.
3. The Minister is responsible to ensure that water is allocated equitably
(fairly) and used beneficially in the public interest (especially towards those
who have not benefited in the past), while also protecting the
environment.
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Salient Features
Water Management Strategies:
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Salient Features
Catchment Management Strategies:
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In its National Water Resource
Strategy, national government
has divided the whole country
into 19 water management
areas. The National Water Act
requires that a strategy is
developed for each water
management area (WMA).
This strategy manages the
water resources in the water
management area and is
called a catchment
management strategy(CMS).

Salient Features
• Protecting The Water Resource:
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Government is faced with
the challenge of protecting
water resources on the one
hand and the need to utilise
water for social and
economic development on
the other hand. The
National Water Act provides
decision-making tools to
achieve a balance between
protecting and utilising
water resources.

Salient Features
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Salient Features
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 Water Resources Management:
Who sets the Reserve?
The Minister of Water Affairs and
Forestry must set the Reserve. The
Reserve is determined for every
significant water resource or part
thereof.

Salient Features
Water Use:
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What does water use mean?
1. Taking water from a water
resource (abstraction)
2. Storing water
3. Activities which reduce
stream flow (for example
commercial forestry)
4. Discharging waste or water
containing
5. Waste into a water resource
6. Removing underground
water
7. Using water for recreational
purposes.

Salient Features
Water Users:
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Salient Features
Paying For Water:
The pricing strategy is established by a notice in the Government
Gazette. It is the overall strategy to set water use charges to fund
the following:
Water resource management which is all the activities to monitor,
allocate, control, protect and conserve water resources.
Water resource development which is all the activities and
associated costs to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain
water works.
Use of water works which is the costs of distributing water. In
addition, charges can be set for.
The achievement of equitable and efficient allocation of water.
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Salient Features
Powers of National Government:
The Minister :
The general powers and duties of the Minister addressed
in the Act include items such as:
1. The power to delegate
2. The power to expropriate (purchase) property
3. Requirements that need to be met when making regulations
4. Fulfilling the functions of a catchment management
5. Agency where no catchment management agency has been established
6. Assigning powers and duties to catchment management agencies.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry:
At present the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is responsible for
administering all aspects of the Act on the Minister's behalf. As CMAs and other
regional and local water management institutions are established the
Department will over time delegate or assign water resource management
responsibilities to these institutions.
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Salient Features
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Water User Associations (WUAs):
A water user association is a statutory body established by the Minister. It
is a grouping of water users who wish to work together because of a
common interest.
Purpose of A WUA:
The purpose of a WUA is to enable water users to cooperate and pool
their resources (financial, human resources and expertise) to more
effectively carry out water-related activities.
Functions of a WUA:
• To prevent water from any water resource being wasted
• To protect water resources
• To prevent any unlawful water use or acts that negatively impact on the
water resource
• To generally supervise the water resources
• To regulate the flow of any watercourse
• To investigate water quality and water use
• To construct and operate and maintain waterworks for draining land or
supplying water.

Conflicts
• Disputed territorial and other ancillary (water-
related) rights along the lower Orange River
(Namibia and South Africa)
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Conflicts
As Drought Grips South Africa, A Conflict Over
Water and Coal:
The drought, the most extreme in South Africa since the start of the 20th
century, shattered the fragile equilibrium between the agricultural and coal
sectors. Pitched street clashes between farmers and police, who back the coal
interests, have broken out south of Musina, where Coal Africa proposes to build
a $406 million mine in an area where some of the country’s most productive
vegetable farms operate. The mine would consume 1 million gallons of water a
day, according to company disclosures. Both the mine and neighbouring irrigated
farms are dependent on the Nzhelele River, which has dwindled to a shallow
stream.
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Principles Legal aspects of Water South Africa
(National
Water Act,
approved in
1998)
India
Principle 1: Water law is consistent with the
constitution (and supports the Bill of
Rights)
yes yes
Principle 2: Water = a resource for all yes yes
Principle 3: Water is a public good yes yes
Principle 4: No riparian principle yes yes
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Principles Legal aspects of Water South Africa
(National
Water Act,
approved in
1998)
India
Principle 5: Catchment is the administrative and
management unit
yes yes
Principle 6: Water management for sustainable,
social and economic benefits of the
society
yes yes
Principle 7: Access for All yes yes
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Conclusion
Water law and water right plays a vital role in management
of water in a country.
It helps the poorest of poor people to fight for their right.
It also controls the riparian water flows and its management
at regional, national and international level.
It maintains sustainable development of water management
at social, economical and ecological point of view.
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Water law of south africa

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