Responses
There are various responses at different levels in order to
manage our water resources in a sustainable manner, including
developing and adhering to international initiatives, setting
relevant policy through legislation, implementing policy at an
operational level (institutional arrangements; enforcement and
monitoring) and implementation of special programmes to combat
specific problems (e.g. Working for Water Programme).
South Africa is a signatory to or abides by several international
protocols that are important to water management (see Outcomes section),
including:
- Helsinki Rules on shared water courses
http://www.mfa.gov.tr/GRUPF/water/annex/annex2.htm,
which state that each basin state has a right to the reasonable and
equitable share of the water in the basin and that the greatest
benefit should be achieved with the least disadvantage to other
states.
- SADC Protocol on Shared Water Course Systems, which has been
ratified by South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and
Mauritius.
- Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance, especially as Waterfowl
habitat (Ramsar; see State).
- Convention to Combat Desertification (see Terrestrial Ecosystem section).
- United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (see Climate and Atmospheric Change section).
Several commissions, committees and organisations ensure that
there is co-operation between South Africa and her neighbours where
international rivers are concerned including
- Tripartite Technical Committee (Mozambique, Swaziland and
South Africa);
- Limpopo Basin Technical Committee (South Africa, Botswana,
Zimbabwe and Mozambique);
- Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (South Africa and
Lesotho).
- Komati Basin Water Authority (South Africa and
Swaziland).
- Vioolsdrift Noordoewer Joint Irrigation
Authority (Namibia and South Africa).
Most legislation pertaining to
the environment (see Box 3.3 below) affects water resources, either directly or
indirectly. The most important are the Water Services Act 108 of
1997 and the National Water Act 36 of 1998, which fall under the
authority of the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. Also of
importance is the Minerals Act 50 of 1991.
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Box 3.3: Main Acts affecting South
Africa'swater resources
Water Services Act 108 of 1997 - provides for the rights of access to
basic water supply and basic sanitation and the
institutional structures required to provide water.
National Water Act 36 of 1998 - provides for the reform of the water
law relating to water resources.
Minerals Act 50 of 1991 - regulates prospecting for and exploitation,
processing and utilization of minerals; to provide for
the safety and health of persons concerned in mines and
works and regulates utilisation and rehabilitation of
land during and after prospecting and mining
operations.
Water Research Act 34 of 1971 - established the Water Research
Commission in order to promote research in connection
with water resources.
Lake Areas Development Act 39 of
1975 - provides for
the establishment of lake areas under the
control of a Lake Areas Development Board.
Mountain Catchment Areas Act 63 of
1976 - recognises
mountain catchments as sensitive areas and makes
provision for their conservation.
Health Act 63 of 1977 - promotes the health of the
inhabitants of the Republic and provides for the
rendering of health care services, as well as
making provision for local authorities to
monitor water quality.
Conservation of Agricultural Resources
Act 43 of 1983 - provides control over the
utilisation of the natural agricultural
resources in order to promote the conservation
of the soil, the water sources and the
vegetation and to combat weeds and invader
plants.
Environment Conservation Act 73 of
1989 - provides for the effective protection
and controlled utilisation of the
environment.
National Environmental Management Act
107 of 1998 -
provides for co-operative environmental
governance by establishing principles for
environmental decision-making; identifies
institutions that will promote co-operative
governance and determines procedures for
co-ordinating environmental functions of state
departments.
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Water Services Act 108 of
1997
In the light of the uneven distribution of the water resources of
the country and previous inequitable policies, the Water Services
Act is important in ensuring that people'sbasic needs are
met, i.e. water supply and sanitation. It ensures that there is
sound planning and that water service providers are set up all over
the country to cater for everyone.
National Water Act 36 of 1998
The National Water Act has replaced the old Water Act 54 of 1956
of 40 years standing. It has completely reformed the water law in
South Africa, bringing into legislation aspects of policy that were
previously only talked about. The Act is based on the principles of
sustainability of use and equity of distribution. The main
provisions affecting the environment are:
- The development of a national water
resource strategy setting out strategies, objectives, plans,
guidelines, procedures and institutional arrangements relating
to the protection, use, development, conservation management and
control of water resources.
- The development of catchment management
strategies, complementing the national water management
strategy.
- Protection of the water resources by
developing a classification system and setting resource quality
objectives.
- Determination of the
"Reserve", which consists of the basic human needs
reserve and the ecological reserve.
- Pollution prevention, including
emergency incidents.
- Provisions for the control of water
allocation and use, and streamflow reduction
activities.
- Setting a pricing strategy as a form of
demand management. Social equity will be taken into
consideration.
- Establishment of Catchment Management
Agencies (CMAs) to delegate water resource management to the
catchment level.
- Establishment of water user
associations, advisory committees and international water
management agencies.
Minerals Act 50 of 1991
Although the Minerals Act does not pertain directly to water, it
has important implications for the water environment. It requires
that all operating and prospecting mines submit an Environmental
Management Programme Report (EMPR), which includes pollution
management strategies, to the Department of Minerals and Energy. If
the proposed environmental management programme (EMP) is acceptable,
it is then approved by the Department. Up until 1997, 4 005 EMPRs
had been submitted for mining, of which 63% had been approved, and 3
487 submitted for prospecting, of which 87% had been approved
(Department of Minerals and Energy 1997).
Hydrology and water supply:
Very little can be done to change the natural climatic conditions
determining the nature of South Africa'swater resources.
However, the response in the past has been to regulate rivers, to
ensure sufficient water in dry years and control flooding in wet
years. The
DWAF has a network of gauging stations to monitor
the fluctuations in water supply (about 1100 streamflow stations and
220 flow meters on pipes; as well as 850 meteorological stations
http://www_dwaf.pwv.gov.za /directorate/hydrology.
Water for the environment has been recognised in the last decade
and large projects require instream flow assessments, to determine
environmental water requirements, as part of the Integrated
Environmental Management process.
Future options to increase water
supply include importing water from other southern
African rivers (e.g. Okavango, Zambezi); desalination of
seawater and icebergs. Water importation has large
political implications, whilst the other options are
currently too expensive. Therefore, responses other than
supply management are required. Demand management,
through pricing of water, is a recognised option (see Economic Dimensions section). Previously water was
treated as a public resource with very little price attached. This
has led to over-utilisation. With the new culture of payment
generated through the Masekane Programme, water pricing can be
considered a key option for demand management.
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| The working for water programme. |
A specific response to a specific problem is that of the Working
for Water Project of the
DWAF. The programme was started in
1996 in response to the recognition that alien invasive plants were
using an estimated 7% of the country's
MAR. The
Programme uses local labour to clear alien vegetation, thus
increasing water flow and providing jobs. In the 1997/98 financial
year R 245 million was spent on the Programme. So far about 55 000
jobs have been created and 340 000 ha cleared (Working for Water
Programme 1998).
Pollution control:
Until recently the DWAF applied the Uniform Effluent Standards approach to pollution control. General and Special
Effluent Standards were promulgated regulations, and all industries
had to comply with these standards, unless they were in possession
of an exemption permit (Section 21 of the Water Act 54 of 1956).
Despite these efforts to control pollution, the quality of South
Africa'swater resources continued to deteriorate.
To counter water quality deterioration and to adapt to the
social, economic and political changes taking place in the country,
the DWAF phased out the Uniform Effluent Standard approach in
favour of the Receiving Water Quality Objectives approach for
non-hazardous substances, and the Pollution Prevention approach for hazardous substances (DWAF 1991). Water Quality
Guidelines for each user group (domestic, recreational, industrial,
agricultural and aquatic ecosystems) have been developed to indicate
the required quality of receiving water bodies for different uses
(DWAF 1996).
A recent policy initiative on Integrated Pollution Control and
Waste Management (IPC&WM), which is due to be written into
legislation in 2000, will change the sectoral nature of pollution
control. The White Paper on
IPC & WM identified several
strategic objectives for the water environment (
IPC & WM 1997):
- pollution of the water resource
(receiving environment) cannot be managed in isolation,
but requires integrated management of water quantity and
water quality aspects;
- the natural aquatic environment is
an integral part of the water resource and not just
another user. No water user or land user can impose on
the water resource to the extent that the natural
environment'ssurvival and healthy functioning is
compromised;
- water quality management control
must be implemented (operational and control functions)
on a catchment level.
- the water resource must be
protected from pollution, irrespective of the point
in the water cycle and must include surface water,
atmospheric water and groundwater.
Enforcement of regulations requires a regulatory framework,
including monitoring, permit allocation and information management.
Information was not available on the permits issued to various water
users. The National Surface Monitoring Programme of the
DWAF has about 850 active
stations (859 in 1996) monitoring water quality, with
about 16 100 inorganic analyses being conducted each
year (1996 data). The budget for water quality
management in the DWAF
is shown in Table 3.5.
| |
1990
(R million) |
1999
(R million) |
| Regional |
30 |
30 |
| Institute for Water Quality Studies |
10 |
17 |
|
Central |
4 |
30 (+15
from Danish Aid) |
Institutional:
In response to the problems that have arisen in the
past, and the recognition of the catchment as the ideal
management unit, changes to the institutional structures
for the management of water resources are occurring. Of
particular importance is the establishment of Catchment
Management Agencies (CMAs) in accordance with the
National Water Act 36 of 1998. Eighteen Catchment
Management Agencies (CMAs) have been
proposed, but these will only be finalised in the coming
year.CMAs allow for the implementation of
integrated catchment management and
integrated water resource management, policies that have been
supported by the DWAF for years.
Until such time as the CMAs are functional,
Government water control areas remain important in the
management and allocation of water resources. The Water
Act 54 of 1956 allowed the Minister to declare
Government water control areas in any area where the
abstraction, utilisation, supply or distribution of the
surface- or groundwater needed to be controlled in the
public interest. There are currently 236 water control
areas (J Joubert, DWAF, pers. comm.)
Research:
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Research provides essential information for
decision-makers and resource managers. The correct
response to a driving force, pressure or impact may
depend on the quality of information provided. The Water
Research Commission is the official body providing
funding for water research in South Africa. Of the
research funded, over half is directly related to the
management of the water environment (Figure
3.25).
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Figure 3.25 Distribution of research funding from the Water
Research Commission (WRC) for 1997.
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There is also information about Freshwater Systems and Resources in the following reports:
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Metropolitan reports:
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Copyright © 1999 Department of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism. All Rights Reserved.
Site maintained by the Directorate Environmental Information and Reporting
Last update: October 1999
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