The National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998) was published in 1998 with the aim of fundamentally reforming the past laws relating to water resources. The purpose of the National Water Act is to ensure that the nation’s water resources are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled. Chapter 4 (Part 1) of the National Water Act sets out general principles for regulating water. Section 21 of National Water Act defines the water uses that will require authorization from the Department of Water and Sanitation before the water use can commerce.

Infrastructure Projects that have been granted Water Use Licences / General Authorisations and can therefore commence with the water use