National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998)

General Authorisations in terms of Section 39 of the National Water Act

3. Discharge of waste or water containing waste into a water resource through a pipe, canal, sewer or other conduit; and disposing in any manner of water which contains waste from, or which has been heated in, any industrial or power generation process

3.6 Definitions

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In this authorisation unless the context indicates otherwise, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in terms of the National Water Act shall have that meaning, and—

 

i)"commercial activity" means those activities identified in the Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (5th Edition), published by the Central Statistics Service, 1993, as amended and supplemented, under the following categories—
a)6: wholesale and retail trade,
b)7: transport, storage and communication,
c)8: business services,
d)9: community, social and personal services,
e)0: personal and other services;

 

ii)"complex industrial wastewater" means wastewater arising from industrial activities and premises, that contains—
a)a complex mixture of substances that are difficult or impractical to chemically characterise and quantify, or
b)one or more substances, for which a Wastewater Limit Value has not been specified, and which may be harmful or potentially harmful to human health, or to the water resource

(identification of complex industrial wastewater will be provided by the Department upon written request);

 

iii)"domestic wastewater" means wastewater arising from domestic and commercial activities and premises, and may contain sewage;

 

iv)"domestic wastewater discharge" means a wastewater discharge consisting of 90% or more domestic wastewater, by volume, that is collected, treated and subsequently disposed of;

 

v)"industrial activity" means those activities identified in the Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (5th Edition), published by the Central Statistics Service, 1993, as amended and supplemented, under the following categories—
a)2: mining and quarrying,
b)3: manufacturing,
c)4: electricity, gas and water supply,
d)5: construction;

 

vi)"industrial wastewater discharge" means a wastewater discharge consisting of more than 10% industrial wastewater, by volume, that is collected, treated and subsequently disposed of;

 

vii)"intake" is water taken from a water resource, and excludes water taken from any source that is not a water resource;

 

viii)"monitoring programme" means a programme for taking regular measurements of the quantity and/or quality of a water resource, waste or wastewater discharge at specified intervals and at specific locations to determine the chemical, physical and biological nature of the water resource, waste or wastewater discharge;

 

ix)"listed water resources" are those water resources listed in Table 3.4 and include any tributary of a listed water resource, and any water resource draining the catchment area of a listed water resource;

 

x)"wastewater" means water containing waste, or water that has been in contact with waste material;

 

xi)"wastewater limit value" means the mass expressed in terms of the concentration and/or level of a substance which may not be exceeded at any time. Wastewater Limit Values shall apply at the last point where the discharge of wastewater enters into a water resource, dilution being disregarded when determining compliance with the Wastewater Limit Values. Where discharge of wastewater does not directly enter a water resource, the Wastewater Limit Values shall apply at the last point where the wastewater leaves the premises of collection and treatment.