National Water Act

A working page, open for review

This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this law, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the law in plain language, and it does not give legal advice or speak for the Forum, the municipality, or any other body. The official text, linked under At a glance, is what counts. Before you act on anything here, read the official text or ask the body named under Who to ask. To correct or add to this page, see How to Submit.

Questions for reviewers:

1. For the Zonderend Water Users Association: is the association established under this Act, and which water users and rivers does it cover?
2. For Greyton’s water bailiffs: how are leiwater rights recorded today: as existing lawful use, as a registration with the Department, or through the municipality?
3. For the Moravian Church and the Transformasie Komitee: what water rights go with the land of Farm 39 and the mountain farm Langgezocht?

The National Water Act is the law that governs all water in South Africa [IC]. It made the national government the public trustee of the country’s water, ended private ownership of water, and set aside a Reserve for basic human needs and for the health of rivers [IC]. It came into force in 1998 [IC]. In the valley it governs who may take water from the Riviersonderend, the Gobos, the Baviaans, and the furrows that feed Greyton’s gardens, and it is the law under which any idea to restore the valley’s water would have to work.

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

• [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by the official text of the law, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
• [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from one party’s own documents or statements. It has not been checked against other sources.
• [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

Sentences without a tag under What it means in the valley are the Forum’s reading of how the rule could apply here. They are not legal advice.

At a glance

Full name	National Water Act, 1998
Citation	Act 36 of 1998
Made by	Parliament
Administered by	The Department of Water and Sanitation; in the Breede catchment, the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency
In force since	1 October 1998, with some provisions later
Official text	LawLibrary

What it does

• Water is held in trust. The national government is the public trustee of the nation’s water resources, and must ensure that water is used for the benefit of all people (section 3) [IC].
• The Reserve comes first. For each water resource a Reserve is set: the water needed for basic human needs, and for the ecological health of the river. It has priority over other uses [IC].
• Using water needs a basis in law. Taking water, storing it, or diverting a river is a water use under section 21 [IC]. A person may use water only on one of these bases [IC]:
  • Schedule 1 use, without any authorisation: water for reasonable domestic use, small gardening that is not for commercial purposes, and watering animals (other than feedlots), taken from a source on or next to one’s land;
  • existing lawful use: a use that was lawfully exercised in the two years before the Act came into force, until it is replaced by a licence (section 32);
  • a general authorisation, published for a kind of use or an area (section 39);
  • a licence issued by the Department or the catchment management agency (section 40).
• Users can organise. The Act provides for water user associations, which let users co-operate on a shared resource (Chapter 8) [IC], and for catchment management agencies that manage water in a whole catchment (Chapter 7) [IC].

What it means in the valley

The Reserve for the valley’s rivers. In August 2022 the Minister set the Reserve for the Breede and its tributaries, including the Riviersonderend, the Gobos, and the Baviaans [IC]. Any new use in the valley must leave that water in the rivers. See From Water Access to Water Agency for the figures.

Greyton’s leiwater. Plots in Greyton have drawn water from the Gobos through open furrows since 1854 [MS]. Those rights predate the Act, and are understood to continue under it, most likely as existing lawful use [TBV]. How they are recorded today, and whether they have been verified by the Department, is not yet known [TBV]. See Greyton’s Leiwater.

Farm 39. The mission bought the mountain farm Langgezocht in 1899 to protect the water sources of Genadendal [MS]. Water rights that go with Farm 39 land are part of what is held in trust, and their use and restoration go to the Transformasie Komitee for review under this site’s rules. Which rights exist, and in whose name they are registered, is not recorded here [TBV].

Farmers on the Riviersonderend. Farmers along the river are entitled to water released from Theewaterskloof Dam [IC]. The Zonderend Water Users Association brings together the people who use the river’s water [MS].

Clearing invasive plants. Invasive trees use water that would otherwise reach the rivers [IC]. Clearing them does not itself need a water use licence [TBV], but any plan to count or sell the water it returns, as the water agency idea proposes, would have to work through this Act and the Department.

Households. Collecting rainwater and taking water for household use and a small food garden from a source on one’s own land is Schedule 1 use and needs no authorisation [IC]. A food garden that sells its produce is commercial, and is not covered by Schedule 1 [TBV].

Where it touches this site

• Zonderend Water Users Association.
• Greyton’s Leiwater.
• From Water Access to Water Agency and Restoring the River.
• Wild Restoration and Valley Food Gardens.

Who to ask

• The Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency, for water use registration and licences in the Breede catchment.
• The Department of Water and Sanitation, Western Cape regional office.
• The Zonderend Water Users Association, for users on the Riviersonderend.

What is still open

• How Greyton’s leiwater rights are recorded under the Act.
• Which water rights go with the land of Farm 39 and Langgezocht.
• Whether the Zonderend Water Users Association was established under Chapter 8 of the Act.

Have your say

If you can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.

Related

• The Rules the Valley Lives By
• The Constitution
• Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act

References

• Parliament of South Africa. National Water Act 36 of 1998. LawLibrary. Sections 3, 21, 22, 32, 39, and 40, Chapters 7 and 8, and Schedule 1.
• Department of Water and Sanitation. Reserve determination for water resources of the Breede-Gouritz Water Management Area. Government Gazette 46798, Notice 2428, 26 August 2022.
• Department of Water and Sanitation. Establishment of the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency. Government Gazette 47559, Notice 2795. Extends the Breede-Gouritz agency’s area to form the Breede-Olifants agency.
• Further sources on the valley’s rivers, the dam, and invasive plants are listed on From Water Access to Water Agency.