Water from private boreholes is not meant for sale
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has become aware of the tendency that has developed to sell water from private boreholes. Any such sale would need a requisite licence to be applied for.
It is therefore imperative to bring to the attention of all South Africans that private boreholes are meant to operate for the benefit of the occupants of the piece of land/property on which the borehole has been drilled.
The recent practice of secondary trade of water particularly as observed currently in the Western Cape is therefore illegal. Private boreholes are for private use, for reasonable domestic use, and therefore not to be commercialised.
Section 22 of the Water Services Act prohibits the transaction on water without authorisation/nomination as a water services intermediary by the relevant Water Services Authority.
In the main the National Water Act remains the principal piece of legislation guiding any use of water in the country.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
