2. To improve the performance
of the municipality in
terms of water and
wastewater business; and
3. To obtain support from
the relevant stakeholders,
whether technical,
administrative, or
monetary support.
In November 2017, the provincial
office is planning an enforcement
month. In the past few years, there
have been numerous reports of
non-compliance with the water
legislation by a variety of water
users. The alleged transgressors
include
private
individuals,
municipalities, companies, and
other organs of state. These
transgressions consist of unlawful
1. To conduct inspections at
identified problem areas
(hotspots) as per the
National Water Act, 1998
(Act No. 36 of 1998) (NWA)
and the Water Services Act,
1997 (Act No. 108 of 1997),
such as industries (dairy
farms and abattoirs), local
municipalities (WWTW), and
the agricultural sector.
2. To conduct inspections as
stipulated in terms of the
NWA, section 26(b), requiring
that the user of water from
a resource be monitored,
measured and recorded.
3. To ensure and provide
investigative and
enforcement support for
the implementation of
Department of Water Affairs’
strategies.
1. To provide an indication
of the current level of
performance in terms
of the Blue and Green
Drop Systems;
Purpose of inspections
during Enforcement Month
in November 2017
4. To identify unauthorised
water users and conduct
compliance on authorised
users as per authorisation
conditions.
The
envisaged
stakeholders
for the enforcement month in
November 2017 will be COGTA,
the Department of Environmental
Affairs, the Department of
Agriculture, Inkomati Ustuthu
Water Management Area, district
municipalities within the region,
the Department of Mineral
Resources, SAPS, and the like.
It is trusted also that by sharing
this knowledge, all relevant
stakeholders will support and
join our efforts to ensure that
our nation’s water resources are
protected for present and future
generations. u
Aim of Provincial
Assessments
abstraction of water, over-
abstraction of water, pollution,
and unauthorised construction/
enlargement of dams, and it
provided the impetus for the
implementation of the inaugural
enforcement month in the region
by the Department’s Compliance
Monitoring and Enforcement unit.
After requesting input from all the
provinces around water security,
Avhasei
Justice
Nekhofhe,
Monitoring and Evaluation, DWS,
Mpumalanga Province, forwarded
the following information.
The Department is conducting
monthly inspections at wastewater
treatment works, water treatment
works, mines, industry, and
agricultural
practices.
The
purpose of the inspections is to
monitor the processes and the
result of the discharge of effluent
into the water resources. Where
non-compliance is detected,
a notice of intention is issued,
which may lead to a criminal case
in the event of continuous non-
compliance, for example pollution.
An innovative initiative by the
Department, which commenced in
June 2017, is to conduct provincial
Green and Blue Drop Assessments
owing to the delays in the National
Assessments. The assessments
will be conducted in collaboration
with the COGTA and Inkomati
Ustuthu Water Management
Area, in the spirit of cooperative
governance.
What the department says
Water Sewage & Effluent July/August 2017
25