South Africans urged to use water legally, sparingly

© Edyta Pawlowska – 123RF.com

Last month, the department embarked on raids in certain areas of the country to compel entities across all sectors that are abstracting water illegally from the rivers and other water resources to stop their activities or face the might of the law.

The raids/visits formed part of Focus Week to mark the Enforcement Month since the beginning of November 2014 to remind all South Africans about the importance of using water legally and sparingly.

In terms of the National Water Act of 1998, all water users in South Africa, whether for commercial or domestic uses must be registered through their municipalities and industries and must be issued with water use licenses.

The National Water Act forms part of the pillars of South Africa's laws as it seeks to enforce good management of water and its conservation.

The department warned that South Africa is among the 30 driest countries in the world and the country also runs the risk of becoming a desert in 20 years if water is not managed and used sparingly.

"It is unacceptable that some individuals and industries use the country's scarce resource for personal benefit without applying for water use licenses.

"An increase in unlawful water use activities, with a negative impact on the environment as well as socio-economic factors, called for a need to bring about public awareness regarding compliance," the department said.

The department explained that accelerated enforcement means effective and enforceable control measures against the unlawful water uses as a result of the detrimental impact they have on the environment.

"Due to the constitutional obligations of the department, the Chief Directorate: Enforcement was responsible for ensuring that the constitutional mandate is met through different enforcement actions and to ensure compliance by transgressors who unlawfully use water from South Africa's scarce water resources."