Warning for South African homeowners with boreholes
The South African government is coming after homes with boreholes.
The Department of Water and Sanitation is planning a crackdown on private water use by regulating boreholes across the country.
New draft regulations have been published that aim to monitor how much groundwater is being extracted by homeowners, businesses, and other private entities.
The department has warned that, without stricter controls, South Africa’s underground water resources could face a significant threat.
If these regulations are passed, there will be stricter monitoring and regulation of boreholes.
According to BusinessTech, the proposed new rules include:
- Mandatory registration: All current borehole owners, including those using water for domestic purposes, will be required to register their details on the National Groundwater Archive. While commercial users are already monitored, this move brings ordinary homeowners into the fold.
- New projects: Anyone looking to drill a new borehole will first need to secure a “geosite identifier” before any work can begin.
- Strict deadlines: Drillers and users will have a two-month window after completing a project to submit all relevant drilling data to the authorities.
- Yield testing: Before pumping can begin, anyone installing equipment must provide results from yield tests and specify sustainable abstraction rates.
The department maintains that these measures are vital to protecting the country’s water security.
“Without proper monitoring, groundwater reserves could potentially become depleted, leading to deterioration of water quality, environmental degradation, and reduced water security,” the draft regulations stated.
The goal is to create a clearer picture of how much water is being drawn from the ground and to manage the cumulative impact of thousands of private boreholes nationwide.
Homeowners who don’t follow these regulations could face fines or imprisonment of up to five years for a first conviction, and up to 10 years for repeat offences.
Prof Surina Esterhuyse from the University of the Free State said South Africa is currently grappling with an “invisible groundwater crisis” fuelled by climate change, pollution, and the collapse of municipal infrastructure.
“The danger is not that the aquifers everywhere will suddenly run dry tomorrow, but there’s a combination of municipal collapse and unmanaged bore expansion,” she told Hot Business.
She highlighted that, because so many boreholes are not officially recorded, authorities have no real way of knowing how much water is actually being used.
However, she also raised concerns that the new rules might be too broad.
“I think there should be more of a differentiation between the small-scale groundwater users compared to the big or large-scale users,” she added.
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