Department Of Water And Sanitation Research Articles

Development of a procedure and tool for retrofit hydropower evaluation at South African dams

South Africa is in a critical power situation and is in dire need of additional generation capacity. Thus, renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower should be evaluated to identify high-potential and cost-effective sites. Rivers in South Africa, as a water-scarce country, are already heavily impounded, meaning that there are limited sites available for conventional hydropower generation. Instead, novel solutions such as retrofitting hydropower installations to existing infrastructure, like existing dams, are required. To estimate the retrofit hydropower potential at dams, a set of five tools was developed using Python 3, known as the University of Pretoria Retrofit Hydropower Evaluation Software (UP-RHES). The UP-RHES screens potential sites where historic flow records are available, then downloads the required flow records from the national database and performs a first-order hydraulic assessment of the site, as well as a first-order life cycle cost analysis. By applying the UP-RHES to 118 dams operated by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), it was found that a total estimated hydropower potential of 128 MW with an annual energy output of between 385 and 469 GWh exists at South African dams. The Vaal, Pongolapoort, Goedertrouw and Blyderivierpoort Dams were found to be feasible sites with a combined capacity of 77 GWh/annum.

Evaluation of Kovacs 1988 Regional Maximum Flood Method

Estimation of design flood peaks is required for the design and evaluation of hydraulic structures. Methodologies developed between the 1960s and the late 1980s, such as the Regional Maximum Flood (RMF), are used to estimate extreme flood peaks in South Africa. The RMF method uses envelope curves to estimate the maximum flood that can be expected in a specific region in South Africa and neighbouring countries, and represents an indicative upper flood limit for other flood estimation methods. The method developed by Kovacs for South Africa was last updated in 1988. Using more than 30 years of additional data for analysis, this paper highlights the RMF's perceived shortcomings. In two RMF regions, updated observed flood peaks exceeded the existing envelope curves. In 78% of the catchment areas of the evaluated stations, the station RMF values were at least 50% more than the observed maximum flood peak. When the different parameters from the Kovacs 1988 and present DWS (Department of Water and Sanitation) datasets were compared, 98% of the evaluated stations had different flood peaks recorded/reported, while 33% of the stations logged different catchment area sizes. Kovacs 1988 ratios used to estimate flood peaks at different probabilities of occurrence, using the RMF, were found to generally over-estimate expected flood peaks. It is concluded that the 1988 RMF method needs to be updated to still provide relevant guidance.

An Analysis of South Africa's Provision of Emergency Water Supply During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Accountability and Expiration

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the widespread lack of access to adequate water and sanitation in South African informal settlements and rural areas. While the full complexities of the relationship between inequality, COVID-19 and water in South Africa are still unfolding, the importance of access to water emerged early on in the pandemic, and catalysed an emergency response from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). This article analyses the impact of the DWS' COVID-19 response in three ways. Firstly, the available data on the provision of tanks and tankers is examined to highlight the importance of a reliable monitoring system. Secondly, the dangers of prioritising short-term action at the expense of long-term sustainability are discussed with reference to the twin challenges of further reduced municipal revenue and redirected funds. Thirdly, the implications of a future cessation of emergency water supply is considered. This analysis provides evidence and perspectives to guide the post-COVID-19 transition from emergency to routine water services provision, and distils lessons which might be applied to the approaching challenge of water services provision in the context of climate change.

An Analysis of South Africa's Provision of Emergency Water Supply During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Accountability and Expiration

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the widespread lack of access to adequate water and sanitation in South African informal settlements and rural areas. While the full complexities of the relationship between inequality, COVID-19 and water in South Africa are still unfolding, the importance of access to water emerged early on in the pandemic, and catalysed an emergency response from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). This article analyses the impact of the DWS' COVID-19 response in three ways. Firstly, the available data on the provision of tanks and tankers is examined to highlight the importance of a reliable monitoring system. Secondly, the dangers of prioritising short-term action at the expense of long-term sustainability are discussed with reference to the twin challenges of further reduced municipal revenue and redirected funds. Thirdly, the implications of a future cessation of emergency water supply is considered. This analysis provides evidence and perspectives to guide the post-COVID-19 transition from emergency to routine water services provision, and distils lessons which might be applied to the approaching challenge of water services provision in the context of climate change.

Utility of geospatial techniques in estimating dam water levels: insights from the Katrivier Dam

To achieve informed integrated water resource management and sustainability, an understanding of the quantity of water available for use within a spatial and temporal context is needed. This study was consequently focused on the estimation of water levels with the use of geospatial techniques. The availability of water data is a significant challenge, especially for smaller dams used by farmers. The lack of consistent water data in turn poses a problem by limiting the estimation of the overall water availability in water strategy models. This challenge is attributed to the cost of modeling all available water resources and the lack of complete records of all available water resources, as some small dams are not officially registered. This paper provides a simple protocol that can be implemented to reliably derive water levels for dams that are yet to be registered or accounted for, using the Katrivier Dam as a case study. Three main datasets were used which enabled the calculation of water levels – a 12.5 m digital elevation model, Sentinel-2 optical images, and water data from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), as in-situ data. The resulting water level values were derived using a proposed model that includes two correction factors, k and s. The results obtained showed that the estimated water levels from the model proposed in this paper are analogous with those observed by the DWS. Therefore, the proposed method can serve as an additional cost-effective method in water accounting procedures as it requires less expensive equipment than alternatives such as bathymetric methods.

Interactions between Irrigated Agriculture and Surface Water Quality with a Focus on Phosphate and Nitrate in the Middle Olifants Catchment, South Africa

Little is understood on the interaction between irrigated agriculture and surface water quality in South African catchments. A case study was conducted on the Middle Olifants Catchment, which contains the second largest irrigation scheme in South Africa. Dams, rivers, irrigation canals, and drainage canals were sampled between the Loskop and Flag Boshielo Dams. Results were compared to historical water quality monitoring data from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). While DWS data indicate that phosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P) does not pose a eutrophication risk, our monitored data were above the eutrophication threshold for the majority of the sampling period. In general, phosphorus (P) pollution is a bigger issue than nitrogen (N), and concentrations of these nutrients tend to be higher during the summer rainfall months, potentially indicating a link to agriculture and fertilization events. We estimated that waste water treatment works (WWTW), which are currently systematically failing in South Africa, have the potential to pollute as much P as irrigated agriculture. Electrical conductivity levels increased downstream, moving from the acceptable towards the tolerable category, while the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) presents a moderate risk of infiltrability problems. The pH values were generally in the ideal range. This study has highlighted existing and looming water quality issues for irrigation and the environment in the Middle Olifants. Similar scoping studies are recommended for other intensively-irrigated catchments in the region to identify issues and allow timely intervention.

Assessing the performance of Trichardt Wastewater Treatment Plant (South Africa)

The main task in treating the wastewater in South Africa is to reduce the pollutants (solids, organic matter, nutrients, and micro-organisms) to meet the standard requirements from Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). That means the discharged effluent should be without polluting the environment and posing safety risks. The objective of this study was to investigate the performance of the Trichardt Wastewater Treatment Plant (South Africa) and come up with recommendations for the improvement of the wastewater treatment plant. The performance of the plant was evaluated for its compliance with the standard set by the DWS. The water quality parameters tested include: Ammonia (NH3), Nitrate (NO3−), Phosphate (PO4−3), Chemical Oxygen Demands (COD), Turbidity (T) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). The result indicates that the concentration of most of the considered parameters (TSS, NH4, COD, PO4−3) are above the permissible limit set by DWS throughout the year, except Nitrate. The operating flowrate is below the design capacity (1.8 m3/s) throughout the year, except September. Overall, the final effluent discharged to the stream do not comply with the standard set by DWS. Thus, measures for the improvement of the treatment plants’ performance are highly recommended. The increase of the hydraulic loading capacity and the use appropriate methods of treatment process such as biological nitrification-denitrification processes are suggested. The increase of retention time to 3 h and decrease of the screen openings to 12 mm are also highly recommended.

A comparison of water quality and macroinvertebrate community structure in endorheic depression wetlands and a salt pan in the Gauteng province, South Africa.

Depression wetlands (colloquially referred to in South Africa (SA) as pans) are found worldwide and primarily occur in arid regions including North and South America, southern and central Africa and southern and western Australia. Surface water resources in SA, and specifically in Gauteng, are under pressure from urbanisation, poor agricultural practices and untreated mining and industrial effluent. Research of these wetlands will benefit the development of health assessment tools for these unique aquatic resources. The aim of this project was to determine the water quality and macroinvertebrate community structure for each perennial pan during consecutive dry and wet seasons and to establish a possible comparison between these pans that can be used as a baseline for future research on pans. The sampled pans in Gauteng presented higher TDS, Cl and Mg results compared to other South African studies, and similar SO4 results to pans in the Mpumalanga province. Ammonia, Al and Zn results of all pans through all sampling events exceed the Target Water Quality Range (TWQR) for aquatic ecosystems of the Water Quality Guidelines (WQG) from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). The water quality from selected systems is suitable for livestock watering based on the DWS TWQR. Macroinvertebrate species of all sampled pans were mostly low water quality tolerant species with a predator dominant community structure. Seasonal variation of species was evident. Macroinvertebrate families found in the wet season include Hydrophilidae, Aeshnidae, Pleiidae, Ephemeroptera, Belostomatidae and Notonectidae. Families found in the dry season include Planaridae, Dysticidae, Hirudinidae and Daphnidae. Graphical representation of ordination analyses with Canoco version 5 (Ter Braak and Šmilauer 2012) indicated that TDS, temperature, pH, sulphates and hardness are strong drivers of the existing macroinvertebrate community in most of the pans.

Technical note: An anomaly in pH data in South Africa’s national water quality monitoring database – implications for future use

The South African national water quality database (Water Management System) houses data records from several environmental monitoring programmes, including the National Chemical Monitoring Programme (NCMP). The NCMP comprises an extensive surface water quality monitoring programme, managed by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). The purpose of this technical note is to alert users to a systematic anomaly recently observed in the pH dataset of the NCMP, reflected in an abrupt increase between pre- and post-1990 data records. Although the cause of the anomaly in pH could not be confirmed with high confidence, an inappropriate acid rinse procedure in pre-1990 analytical methods was identified as the most likely cause, based on available evidence. This was supported by the variation in relative sensitivity when comparing the effect on waters with different buffering capacities, i.e., water with low buffering capacity (represented by total alkalinity < 10 mg/L, as CaCO3) showing the largest anomaly, compared with waters of higher buffering capacity (represented by total alkalinity > 30 mg/L, as CaCO3) showing the smallest anomaly. Historical pH data records in the NCMP (i.e. pre-1990), therefore should be used with caution, especially in more weakly buffered systems. The possibility of reconstructing data using a correction factor derived from detailed statistical analyses of the post-1990 pH characteristics at selected sites is a possible solution that could be investigated in future. A key lesson learnt is the need to be diligent in capturing detailed meta-data on sampling procedures and analytical methods in datasets spanning several generations. Availability of such information is critical in order to provide users with a means of evaluating the suitability and comparability of data records in long-term datasets. The DWS includes such meta-data in the current version of the database, dating from about 1995 onwards.

Assessment of groundwater quality in the buffer zone of Limpopo National Park, Gaza Province, Southern Mozambique.

Many areas in the Southern African Development Community are data-poor and poorly accessible. Water quality assessment in these areas therefore has to rely on the limited available data, coupled with restricted field sampling. This paper documents the first evaluation of the main geochemical processes and impact of anthropogenic and natural sources of contamination on the groundwater quality of the aquifer system used for domestic and agricultural purposes in Limpopo National Park, Gaza Province, Southern Mozambique. Twenty-five groundwater and surface water samples were collected during two field campaigns, one in October 2016 (the end of the arid period) and the other in March 2017 (the end of the wet period). In the field, the researchers analysed chemical-physical parameters such as temperature, pH and EC. In the laboratory, the major ions (boron, Na+, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+) and anions (Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, HCO3-, CO32-) were determined, and almost all groundwater samples fall into the brackish water category. The B/Cl ratio and δ11B concentrations were then measured to better understand the origin of these brackish waters. The direct relationship between boron and chlorine and δ11B concentrations above 40‰ suggests the presence of fossil water in the aquifer. The groundwater in this area was found to be above the limits stated as desirable by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the World Health Organisation for domestic and irrigation purposes. The suitability of the groundwater for drinking purposes was also evaluated, with the results indicating that it is not suitable. The values of the sodium absorption ratio, sodium percentage and electrical conductivity show that most of the groundwater samples are also not suitable for agricultural purposes. However, the surface waters have higher quality for both domestic and irrigation purposes. The water of Massingir Lake turns out to be the most suitable resource for a possible rural development plan for the area.

The All Towns Reconciliation Strategies a partnership between water resource management and water services

Abstract In 2012, the South African Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) initiated a study: Continuation of the Northern Planning Region's All Towns Reconciliation Strategies: Phase 1. This study reviewed, prioritised and updated the rudimentary All Towns strategies initially developed by DWS in 2011. The purpose of the strategies was to reconcile water requirements with available resources for the 2011–2035 planning horizon by estimating the projected water requirements, determining available water resources (surface and groundwater) and developing a water balance. Recommendations were made to conserve, manage and administer local water sources as well as to augment water supplies from other sources if required. The recommendations provided actions and options for implementation by the relevant Water Services Authorities and the DWS at a local and regional level, providing the opportunity for integrated and coordinated planning. Bulk and reticulation metering, the implementation of water conservation and demand management programmes and recommendations on the updating of water use allocations were prioritised. Detailed studies required to determine the most feasible water resource augmentation options to ensure a positive water balance were identified. The study coordinated efforts by officials and stakeholders representing both the water resources and water services sectors. The prioritised strategies defined the deficit or surplus of the water resources per water source on a technical level, but also highlighted the need for planning and coordination between the water resources and water services sectors. The strategies are not legally mandated documents, but represent some of the best efforts spanning across various sectors to realise coordinated water infrastructure planning in DWS’ Northern Planning Region. The use of the documents in the local, district and national planning environments should be promoted for integrated planning, and it may be fitting to incorporate the All Towns Reconciliation Strategy documents as a valuable resource to inform the water legislation currently being reviewed.

Validation and verification of lawful water use in South Africa: An overview of the process in the KwaZulu-Natal Province

South Africa is a water-stressed country which has, over the years, strived to adopt a rational, just and equitable way to manage this limited resource. The National Water Act (Act No.36 of 1998) (NWA) provides the legal framework to achieve this objective. Since 2003, the government embarked on a national process to: validate (confirm the quantum of), and; verify (establish the lawfulness of) water uses that exceed domestic requirements. The objective of the process is to determine how much water is allocated for: (1) existing lawful use in accordance with specific requirements of the NWA, and; (2) current water uses. The process identified users with or without registered use entitlements, whether claims for registered uses were correct, under-estimated, over-estimated or false; and confirmed the lawfulness of each water use in accordance with water legislation that pre-dated the NWA. The process included identifying land and non-land based water uses (industrial, mining and bulk potable water supplies, irrigation, crop types and impoundments) using remote sensing (RS) techniques for both a qualifying (defined as two years before the enactment of the NWA) and the current periods. Using this as a basis, volumetric crop irrigation requirements were then estimated using the South African Procedure for estimating irrigation WATer requirements (SAPWAT), while the Gush curves were used to quantify Stream Flow Reduction Activities (SFRAs) for commercially afforested areas. The boundaries of farm reservoirs were delineated from RS and the volumes calculated using a regression approach. Estimates of the irrigation water requirements, SFRAs and reservoir volumes formed the basis for interaction between the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and water users to confirm their uses; and subsequently, to update the DWS Water Authorisation and Registration Management System (WARMS), a database of water users. While WARMS initially indicated a total of approximately 16 000 registered users in the KwaZulu-Natal Province, following the RS analysis up to 6000 potential additional water users have been identified, mostly currently unregistered, who are expected to be registered in the updated database. Despite certain process methodology challenges and limitations, it forms a critical basis for all other aspects of water management, informs macro- and micro-water resource planning, water allocation reform, as well as water use compliance, monitoring and enforcement.

A critical look at South Africa’s Green Drop Programme

In this paper we briefly reflect on the different legislation and types of regulatory mechanisms that South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has in place to try to improve the performance and compliance of water services authorities (WSAs) in the controversial wastewater services sector. In particular, we focus on DWS’s incentive-based mechanism, the National Green Drop Certification Programme (Green Drop Programme), and evaluate the achievements and challenges associated with its implementation to date. While there has been considerable improvement in performance in all areas of the programme since its inception in 2009, much still needs to be done in order to address the dire situation the country’s wastewater services sector finds itself in. Challenges facing the Green Drop Programme and the municipalities implementing the programme include: lack of human resource capacity to prepare effective corrective action plans and/or wastewater risk abatement plans; lack of finances for mainstreaming of wastewater treatment in municipal decision-making; lack of forward planning; problematic bureaucratic processes; complex relationship between some municipalities and DWS; theft, vandalism and misuse of wastewater treatment infrastructure and not enough transparency. Based on this discussion, we make some concluding remarks about possible areas of improvement that could potentially strengthen the functioning and success of this programme, and thereby help to improve the levels of performance and compliance of the country’s WSAs. Keywords: wastewater treatment, regulation, Green Drop Programme, incentive-based mechanism, command-and-control mechanism

The Impact of Human Activities on Microbial Quality of Rivers in the Vhembe District, South Africa.

Background: Water quality testing is dictated by microbial agents found at the time of sampling in reference to their acceptable risk levels. Human activities might contaminate valuable water resources and add to the microbial load present in water bodies. Therefore, the effects of human activities on the microbial quality of rivers collected from twelve catchments in the Vhembe District in South Africa were investigated, with samples analyzed for total coliform (TC) and Eschericha coli (E. coli) contents. Methods: Physical parameters and various human activities were recorded for each sampling site. The Quanti-Tray® method was adopted for the assessment of TC and E. coli contents in the rivers over a two-year period. A multiplex polymerase chain (PCR) method was used to characterize the strains of E. coli found. Results: The microbial quality of the rivers was poor with both TC and E. coli contents found to be over acceptable limits set by the South African Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). No significant difference (p > 0.05) was detected between TC and E. coli risks in dry and wet seasons. All six pathogenic E. coli strains were identified and Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), atypical Enteropathogenic E. coli (a-EPEC) and Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) were the most prevalent E. coli strains detected (respectively, 87%, 86% and 83%). Conclusions: The study indicated that contamination in the majority of sampling sites, due to human activities such as car wash, animal grazing and farming, poses health risks to communities using the rivers for various domestic chores. It is therefore recommended that more education by the respective departments is done to avert pollution of rivers and prevent health risks to the communities in the Vhembe District.

Development and implementation of a monitoring programme for South African estuaries

This study designed and implemented a national estuarine monitoring programme for South African estuaries. The National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998) mandates the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to undertake monitoring for the protection of water resources. Monitoring also forms an integral component of estuarine management plans which are a requirement of the Integrated Coastal Management Act (Act No. 24 of 2008). The design of the programme was based on a review of international best practice, a critical evaluation of existing national monitoring programmes implemented by DWS and workshop input from a group of national experts. The National Estuary Monitoring Programme has three tiers. Tier 1 focuses on basic data, Tier 2 makes use of the methods used for determining estuarine freshwater inflow requirements, and Tier 3 is usually of a short temporal scale and dependent on the issue at hand, such as a sewage spill or fish kill. Tier 1 monitoring commenced on 21 priority estuaries between 2012 and 2014 in collaboration with government conservation authorities, conservation forums and local and district municipalities. Available financial and human resources guided the selection of the priority estuaries. Analysis of the implementation of the programme showed that collaboration between all relevant role-players was central to the successes achieved during the first 3 years of the programme and will continue to be critical for the success of the programme, although funding remains a challenge.

Water budget analysis for the Middle Mohlapitsi wetland in the Oliphants River Basin, Limpopo province, South Africa

The objective of the study was to design a workable water balance of the wetland to develop a comprehensive water-resources plan for the basin. The study area water budget describes inputs to the watershed (precipitation and imported water), outputs of water from the watershed (streamflow, exported water, leakage, consumed water, and evapotranspiration), and changes in ground-water and surface-water storage. Hydrological and meteorological data was obtained from Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and South African Weather Service (SAWS) respectively. The study area water-budget equation was calculated for evapotranspiration (ET). No water was imported to the study area, and no GW was exported to the surrounding catchments. The average precipitation (R), streamflow (SF), change in groundwater storage (ΔGWs), change in surface water storage (ΔSWs), consumptive use (CoU) and evapotranspiration (ET) and errors were 20.93, 14.93, −4.68, −4.04, 9.43 and 5.29 cm respectively.

Water budget analysis for the Middle Mohlapitsi wetland in the Oliphants River Basin, Limpopo province, South Africa

The objective of the study was to design a workable water balance of the wetland to develop a comprehensive water-resources plan for the basin. The study area water budget describes inputs to the watershed (precipitation and imported water), outputs of water from the watershed (streamflow, exported water, leakage, consumed water, and evapotranspiration), and changes in ground-water and surface-water storage. Hydrological and meteorological data was obtained from Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and South African Weather Service (SAWS) respectively. The study area water-budget equation was calculated for evapotranspiration (ET). No water was imported to the study area, and no GW was exported to the surrounding catchments. The average precipitation (R), streamflow (SF), change in groundwater storage (ΔGWs), change in surface water storage (ΔSWs), consumptive use (CoU) and evapotranspiration (ET) and errors were 20.93, 14.93, −4.68, −4.04, 9.43 and 5.29 cm respectively.

Investigating the bottom free surface nappe (ogee profile) across a sharp-crested weir caused by the flow in an asymmetrical approach channel

The shape of an ogee spillway is based on the shape of the lower nappe of water flowing over an aerated sharp-crested weir. At the design discharge, this shape minimises the possibility of sub-atmospheric pressure occurring on the spillway and maximises the discharge across the spillway. The formulae that are currently in use to approximate the ogee profile consider only two-dimensional flow parameters, being the depth of flow over the spillway crest, the inclination of the upstream wall face, and the pool depth upstream of the spillway. The current formulae for the ogee shape, does not consider the influence of three-dimensional flow. The most significant three-dimensional flow parameters that could affect the shape of the lower nappe are the flow velocity distribution upstream of the spillway, the orientation or angle of the water approaching the spillway, the asymmetrical cross-section of the approach channel, and the curvature of the dam wall. This paper reflects the influence of asymmetrical flow in the approach channel. The investigation was based on a physical model constructed at the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). The inclination of the model's sidewalls of the upstream approach channel was varied to cause a change in the symmetricity, while the lower nappe profile was routinely measured. It was found that the flow in the asymmetrical approach channel caused a variation from the theoretical estimated ogee profile. A comparison between the measured nappe profile and the currently used formulae was investigated. It can be concluded that the symmetricity of the approach channel influences the shape of the bottom nappe, which differs from the shape as proposed by the current ogee formulae. It is recommended that three-dimensional flow should be examined when designing an ogee spillway.

CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON 20 YEARS OF GROUNDWATER RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

The aim of this paper is to highlight the changes that have taken place in terms of groundwater resource development and management in South Africa in the 20 years since the political transformation of the country in 1994. Groundwater, the previously neglected resource, received a strategic role in the monumental programme to bring basic water infrastructure coverage to more than 95% of the population during this period. The post-1994 water policy reforms have also had a very positive impact on groundwater; its legal status changed from “private water” to a “significant resource” and it became an integral part of integrated water resource management in terms of the National Water Act, 1998. A systematic assessment of changes, undertaken within a framework of groundwater governance, indicates that significant advances have been made in the groundwater field at the enabling environment/policy level as well as at the strategic/national level in terms of institutional and management instrument development. Thus groundwater has become an integral part of water resource planning, with appropriate groundwater data and information systems to back this up. Groundwater management at the national level can still be significantly improved by way of appropriate regulations that address the unique requirements of groundwater resources in terms of protection, information management and human resources. The present challenge lies at the local level, where the management of thousands of groundwater schemes was transferred from national government and from community management structures to newly established municipal administrations. Urgent attention will need to be given to building the institutional capacity for groundwater resource management at this local level. It will require the coordinated effort of the entire groundwater sector, led by the national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and founded in ongoing research and development through the Water Research Commission (WRC).