"Making water resource management water quality friendly"

The promulgation of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998) and various other acts, as well as the publication of various policies and White Papers (such as Water Supply and Sanitation, 1994, etc.) have given a new direction to water resources management, and specifically Water Quality Management (WQM), in South Africa.

The purpose of the National Water Act (NWA) is to ensure that the South Africa's water resources are protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in an equitable, efficient and sustainable manner. This necessitates a change in the approach of WQM to an integrated source, resource and remediation focused management approach.

This project focuses on water quality management, specifically the water quality portion of resource-directed management.

A specific objective of this project is to integrate WQM policies and methodologies into water resources management, together with these approaches. A key output will be the development of a Resource Directed Water Quality Management Policy (RDWQMP). Another important objective is to develop management instruments for regional offices to include resource-directed water quality issues into licence allocations and, thus, make this policy operational.

This web site is intended to serve as a source of information for project team members as well as Department of Water Affairs & Forestry stakeholders throughout the duration of the project.