National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998)NoticesRevision of General Authorisations in terms of Section 39 of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998) (The Act)3. Disposing of Waste in a manner which may detrimentally impact on a Water Resource |
| 3.1 | Purpose of authorisation |
This general authorisation replaces the need for a water user to apply for a licence in terms of the Act, provided that the water use is within the limits and conditions as set out in this general authorisation.
| 3.2 | Exclusion |
This authorisation does not apply to a person who is not the lawful occupier of the land or who does not have lawful access to the land on which the disposal takes place.
| 3.3 | Compliance with Act and other laws |
| (1) | This authorisation does not— |
| (a) | replace any existing authorisation that is recognised under the Act; |
| (b) | exempt a person who uses water from compliance with any other provision of the Act unless stated otherwise in this notice, or any other applicable law, regulation, ordinance or by-law; |
| (c) | apply to any water use under Schedule 1 of the Act. |
| (2) | A person who uses water in terms of this authorisation is exempted from compliance with section 22(2)(e) of the Act. |
| 3.4 | Area of applicability |
This authorisation is applicable throughout the Republic of South Africa, except for those subterranean government water control areas set out in Table 3.1, which may be amended from time to time.
| 3.5 | Duration of authorisation |
This authorisation will be applicable for five years from the date of publication of this notice, unless—
| (a) | it is amended by the responsible authority at any review period; or |
| (b) | the period is extended by a notice in the Gazette; |
| (c) | it is replaced with a general authorisation in relation to a specific water resource or within a specific area; or |
| (d) | the water user is instructed in writing by the responsible authority to apply for a licence in terms of the Act. |
| 3.6 | Definitions |
In this general authorisation, unless the context indicates otherwise, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in terms of the Act shall have that meaning, and—
means wastewater that contains predominantly organic waste arising from industrial activities and premises including—
| (a) | milk processing; |
| (b) | manufacture of fruit and vegetable products; |
| (c) | sugar mills; |
| (d) | manufacture and bottling of soft drinks; |
| (e) | production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages in breweries, wineries or malt houses; |
| (f) | manufacture of animal feed from plant or animal products; |
| (g) | manufacture of gelatine and glue from hides, skin and bones; |
| (h) | abattoirs; |
| (i) | fish processing; and |
| (j) | confined animal feeding operations; |
means—
| (a) | any gold or coal mine |
| (b) | any mine with an extractive metallurgical process, including heap leaching; or |
| (c) | any mine where sulphate producing or acid generating material occurs; |
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); |
means wastewater arising from domestic and commercial activities and premises, and may contain sewage;
means a dam designed to collect and dispose of wastewater through evaporation, from which any concentrated waste or sludge must be removed and disposed of according to the requirements of any relevant laws and regulations;
refers to wastewater generated through domestic activities and premises, including washing, bathing and food preparation, but does not contain sewage;
means a programme for taking regular measurements of the quantity and 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;
refers to the disposal of wastewater on individual properties not permanently linked to a central waste collection, treatment and disposal systems, such as septic tank systems, conservancy tank systems, soakaway systems, french drains, pit latrines, some package plants and related activities;
means waste of non-anthropogenic origin that is readily biodegradable in the environment and does not contain any toxic substances that may accumulate in the environment
means treatment of wastewater by a physical process, which may involve maceration, sedimentation, screening and grit removal;
means treatment of wastewater by a biological process, which amongst others may involve solar and other energy, bacteria, algae and a variety of aquatic biota, to remove organic matter;
means water containing waste, or water that has been in contact with waste material;
means a dam or system of dams designed to collect wastewater and to conduct primary and secondary treatment, from which treated wastewater is disposed of.
| 3.7 | Storage of domestic and biodegradable industrial wastewater for the purpose of re-use |
A person who—
| (a) | owns or lawfully occupies property registered in the Deeds Office as at the date of this notice; |
| (b) | lawfully occupies or uses land that is not registered or surveyed; or |
| (c) | lawfully has access to land on which the use of water takes place, |
may on that property or land outside the areas set out in Table 3.1—
| (i) | store up to 5 000 cubic metres of domestic and biodegradable industrial wastewater for the purpose of re-use, if the storing of the wastewater— |
| (a) | does not impact on a water resource or on any other person's water use, property or land; and |
| (b) | is not detrimental to the health and safety of the public in the vicinity of the activity. |
| 3.8 | Storage of domestic and biodegradable industrial wastewater for the purpose of disposal |
A person who—
| (a) | owns or lawfully occupies property registered in the Deeds Office as at the date of this notice; |
| (b) | lawfully occupies or uses land that is not registered or surveyed; or |
| (c) | lawfully has access to land on which the use of water takes place, |
may on that property or land outside the areas set out in Table 3.1—
| (i) | store domestic and biodegradable industrial wastewater for the purpose of disposal of— |
| (a) | up to 10 000 cubic metres per property or land; or |
| (b) | up to 50 000 cubic metres in a wastewater pond system per property or land, |
| (II) | if the storing of the wastewater— |
| (a) | does not impact on a water resource or on any other person's water use, property or land; and |
| (b) | is not detrimental to the health and safety of the public in the vicinity of the activity. |
| 3.9 | Disposal of domestic and biodegradable industrial wastewater |
A person who—
| (a) | owns or lawfully occupies property registered in the Deeds Office as at the date of this notice; |
| (b) | lawfully occupies or uses land that is not registered or surveyed; or |
| (c) | lawfully has access to land on which the use of water takes place, |
may on that property or land outside the areas set out in Table 3.1, dispose of—
| (i) | up to 1 000 cubic metres of domestic and biodegradable industrial wastewater, on any given day— |
| (a) | into a wastewater pond system; or |
| (b) | into an evaporation pond system; |
| (ii) | domestic wastewater or biodegradable wastewater into a wastewater irrigation system as set out in general authorisation 1 in this Notice; |
| (iii) | wastewater to an on-site disposal facility— |
| (a) | for grey water generated by a single household; |
| (b) | up to one cubic metre of biodegradable industrial wastewater on any given day; or |
| (c) | domestic wastewater to a communal conservancy tank serving no more than 50 households; |
| (iv) | domestic wastewater generated by a single household not permanently linked to a central waste collection, treatment and disposal system to an on-site disposal facility; and |
| (v) | stormwater runoff from any premises containing waste or wastewater from industrial activities and premises, if the disposing of wastewater— |
| (a) | does not impact on a water resource or on any other person's water use, property or land; and |
| (b) | is not detrimental to the health and safety of the public in the vicinity of the activity. |
| 3.10 | Disposal of mine waste or residue |
A person may dispose of mine residue into mine residue deposits provided that—
| (a) | the mine residue is not from a Category A mine; |
| (b) | the disposal is in accordance with Government Notice No. 704 of 4 June 1999 as amended from time to time; and |
| (c) | the disposal is in accordance with SANS 10286: 1998, as amended from time to time. |
| 3.11 | Registration of wastewater storage |
| (1) | A person who stores wastewater in terms of this authorisation must submit a registration form for registration of the water use before commencement of storage if more than 1 000 cubic metres are stored for disposal or if more than 500 cubic metres are stored for re-use. |
| (2) | On written communication and or registration certificate from the responsible authority the person will be regarded as a registered water user. |
| (3) | All forms for registration of water use are obtainable from any office of the responsible authority as well as from the web-site at http: //www.dwa.gov.za. |
| 3.12 | Registration of wastewater disposal |
| (1) | A person who disposes of wastewater in terms of this authorisation must submit a registration form for registration of the water use before the commencement of the disposal if more than 50 cubic metres of domestic wastewater or biodegradable industrial wastewater is disposed of on any given day. |
| (2) | The responsible local authority must submit a registration form obtained from the responsible authority, to register the water use for disposal of domestic wastewater in— |
| (a) | areas where more than 5 000 households are served by on-site disposal sites; |
| (b) | areas where the density of on-site disposal sites exceeds 10 per hectare; or |
| (c) | areas served by communal septic tanks. |
| (3) | On written communication and or registration certificate from the responsible authority, the person will be regarded as a water user. |
| (4) | All forms for registration of water use are obtainable from any office of the responsible authority as well as from the web-site at http://www.dwa.gov.za. |
| 3.13 | Location of wastewater storage dams and wastewater disposal sites |
Wastewater storage dams and wastewater disposal sites must be located—
| (a) | outside of a watercourse; |
| (b) | above the 1 in 100 year flood line or riparian habitat whichever is the greatest, or alternatively at least 100 metres from a water resource whichever is the greatest or at least further than a 500m radius from a borehole that is utilised for drinking water or stock watering; and |
| (c) | at least outside a 500m radius from the boundary of a wetland, |
| (d) | on land that is not, or does not, overlie, a major aquifer (identification of a major aquifer will be provided by the responsible authority upon written request). |
| 3.14 | Record-keeping and disclosure of information |
| (1) | The water user must ensure the establishment of monitoring programmes to monitor the quantity and quality of the wastewater prior to storage or disposal, as follows— |
| (a) | for the storage of wastewater, the quantity must be recorded monthly; or |
| (b) | for the disposal of wastewater, the quantity must be gauged or metered and recorded monthly. |
| (2) | Upon the written request from the responsible authority, the water user must— |
| (a) | ensure the establishment of any additional monitoring programmes; and |
| (b) | appoint a competent person to assess the water use measurements made in terms of this authorisation, and to submit the findings to the responsible authority for evaluation. |
| (3) | Monitoring of quality must be done once every month and results submitted to the responsible authority. |
| (4) | Subject to subparagraph 3.14(1), the water user must keep a written record of the following wastewater storage or wastewater disposal and related activities— |
| (a) | the location of the storage dam or wastewater disposal site; |
| (b) | the quantity of wastewater stored or disposed of or re -used; |
| (c) | the quality of wastewater stored or disposed of, where applicable; |
| (d) | details of the monitoring programme; |
| (e) | details of failures and malfunctions of any wastewater disposal system or wastewater storage dam that the registered user is responsible for, and such information must be made available upon written request to the responsible authority. |
| 3.15 | Methods for sampling and analysis |
The following methods for sampling and analysis must be adhered to:
| (a) | Samples of the water containing waste must be taken as prescribed in the Notice, and in accordance with the applicable South African National Standard (SANS) for sampling. |
| (b) | The methods for the measurement of specific substances and parameters in any waste or wastewater must be carried out by a— |
| (i) | laboratory that has been accredited in accordance with SANS 17025:2005 by the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) to conduct the analysis in accordance with the prescribed SANS method for each applicable variables; or |
| (ii) | laboratory that participates in a recognised Proficiency Testing Scheme (Zscores results should be presented); |
| (iii) | laboratory that has proof of intra- and inter-laboratory proficiency (quality assurance as prescribed in Standard Methods). |
| (c) | Water users who can be able to demonstrate to the responsible authority that there is no accredited laboratory within their vicinity may use methods 1.12(b)(ii) and (iii) above. |
| 3.16 | Precautionary practices |
| (1) | The water user must follow acceptable design, construction, maintenance and operational practices to ensure the consistent, effective and safe performance of the wastewater discharge system, including the prevention of— |
| (a) | nuisance conditions such as flies or mosquitoes, odour or secondary pollution; |
| (b) | the contamination of run-off water or stormwater; |
| (c) | contaminated stormwater entering into a water resource; and |
| (d) | the unauthorised use of the wastewater by members of the public. |
| (2) | Suspended solids must be removed from any wastewater, and the resulting sludge disposed of according to the requirements of any relevant law or regulation. |
| (3) | All reasonable measures must be taken to prevent wastewater overflowing from any wastewater disposal system or wastewater storage dam. |
| (4) | All reasonable measures must be taken to provide for mechanical, electrical, or operational failures and malfunctions of any wastewater disposal system or wastewater storage dam. |
| (5) | Sewage sludge must be removed from any wastewater and the resulting sludge disposed of according to the requirements of any relevant law and regulation, including— |
| (a) | Guidelines for the Utilisation and Disposal of Wastewater Sludge, Volumes 1-5, Water Research Commission Reports TT 261/06, 262/06, 349/09, 350/09, 351/09, as amended from time to time; and |
| (b) | "Guide: Permissable utilisation and disposal of treated sewage effluent", 1978, Department of National Health and Population Development Report No. 11/2/5/3, as amended from time to time (obtainable from the Department upon written request). |
| 3.17 | Inspections |
Any property or land in respect of which a water use has been authorised in terms of this general authorisation, such property or land must be made available for inspection by an authorised person in terms of section 125 of the Act.
| 3.18 | Incidence reporting |
Any information on the occurrence of any incident that has or is likely to have a detrimental impact on the water resource quality must be reported to the responsible authority within 24 hours.
| 3.20 | Offences |
A person who contravenes any provision of this general authorisation is guilty of an offence and is subject to the penalty set out in section 151(2) of the Act.
NOTE: Information regarding the drainage regions referred to in Table 3.1 can be obtained from the Responsible Authority upon written request.
TABLE 3.1: Subterranean government water control areas excluded from general authorisation for disposal of waste
Primary drainage region |
Tertiary/Quaternary drainage region |
Description of subterranean government water control are |
Government Notice No. |
Government Gazette Date |
H |
H30 |
Baden |
136 |
1967-06-16 |
A |
A30 |
Bo-Molopo |
1324 |
1963-08-30 |
C |
C30 |
Bo-Molopo |
1993 |
1965-12-17 |
D |
D41 |
Bo-Molopo |
R634 |
1966-04-29 |
A |
A24 |
Crocodile River Valley |
208 |
1981-10-23 |
A |
A21 |
Crocodile River Valley |
18 |
1983-02-18 |
A |
A21, A22 |
Kroondal-Marikana |
180 |
1963-06-17 |
G |
G10, G30 |
Lower Berg River Valley/Saldanha |
185 |
1976-09-10 |
A, B |
A60, B50, B31 |
Nyl River Valley |
56 |
1971-03-26 |
G |
G30 |
Strandfontein |
2463 |
1988-12-09 |
M |
M10, M20, M30 |
Uitenhage |
260 |
1957-08-23 |
G |
G30 |
Wadrif |
992 |
1990-05-11 |
G |
G20 |
Yzerfontein |
27 |
1990-02-09 |
G |
G30 |
Graafwater |
1423 |
1990-06-29 |
A |
A70 |
Dendron-Vivo |
813 |
1994-04-29 |
A |
A60 |
Dorpsrivier |
312 |
1990-02-16 |
C |
C24 |
Ventersdorp |
777 |
1995-06-02 |