Groundwater is an invisible resource and is misunderstood. It accounts for 13% of South Africa’s water use, yet half of the country’s municipalities, particularly those in drier areas, are reliant on it for their water supply.

Despite being the only source of water for many, groundwater is mostly relegated to a distant second place by the water supply fraternity. Dams are easier to manage, and desalination seems to be an obvious solution to some, despite both having significant drawbacks.

But every so often, groundwater makes headlines, as it has recently, after a borehole was drilled into a Gautrain tunnel between Park and Rosebank stations. This has sparked a great deal of comments and opinions, many of which are inaccurate.

The drilling of a borehole into the Gautrain tunnel could have been a massive disaster, for the contractor if they had hit the powerlines; and for the commuters if the train had hit the drilling stem and bit as it penetrated the tunnel. Calls for new laws to prevent this happening again are pointless.  Land use above the tunnel is already restricted by means of a servitude which, according to available information, restricts the drilling of boreholes.  The landowner ignored this (either intentionally or otherwise), as did the neighbors and the drilling contractor.  It is not yet clear whether a consulting hydrogeologist was involved.

While we debate what needs to be done, we should not forget that the current frenzy of drilling in and around Johannesburg is a direct result of failures in service delivery. One only has to read the papers to appreciate this. But two wrongs do not make a right.

Groundwater and the law

The National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA) does not require permission to be obtained before drilling a borehole.  It focuses on the registration and licensing of water use.  Some municipalities have such a requirement in their by-laws, but these are often ignored (again either intentionally or otherwise) and generally not enforced – until a crisis arrives. The relevant by-laws can be hard to find and confusing.

In Cape Town, the water by-laws amended in 2018 are readily accessible; while in Johannesburg regulations concerning borehole drilling are primarily outlined in the Public Health By-laws (2010) and the City of Johannesburg Land Use Scheme (2018), rather than the Water Services by-laws. The City of Tshwane has prohibited the drilling of boreholes in areas underlain by dolomite, because of the increased risk of sinkhole formation, but I could not find this in any of their by-laws; only as statement on their drilling application form. Nonetheless, written permission typically must be sought from the relevant authority at least 14 days before the intended date of drilling.

As the NWA has a tiered approach to water use authorisation to manage and protect our water resources, I suggest municipalities publish a land use hazard map that can be used to manage the drilling of boreholes. Without exception, municipalities do not have any hydrogeological expertise. This limits their ability to make informed decisions. However, with consultation, preparation of a land use hazard map would be a simple task.

In the case of the Gautrain incident, the servitude associated with the tunnel could be included on the land use hazard map; as would mining shafts, dolomitic areas, sensitive surface water features, contaminated areas, and any other potential hazards. Zones could be demarcated where no municipal permission is required to drill a borehole, municipal permission is required, and a hydrogeological assessment is required before drilling can start. Such an approach would be more effective than promulgating new laws and would certainly be less administratively burdensome.

It must be noted that the devil lies in the detail. Drilling in an urban setting can be hazardous because of buried water and sewer pipes and other buried services such as electrical cables. Both the property owner and the contractor must be aware of the location of these hazards before drilling commences. Also, the quality and contamination status of the groundwater must be ascertained before the groundwater is used, irrespective of the intended use. This is only common sense.

As highlighted earlier, some municipalities require that their permission be sought before drilling. Requirements differ, so it is best to check with the local municipality before drilling.

Water use authorisation

Some recent reports have misrepresented aspects of water use authorisation. There are no numerical limits associated with Schedule 1 water use. Water use is authorised under Schedule 1 if used for reasonable domestic use, domestic gardening not for commercial gain, animal watering, firefighting, and recreational use. If groundwater use exceeds 10 000 L/d then this must be registered with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) or the relevant Catchment Management Agency (CMA), where they exist.

Water use is not considered to be Schedule I use may be generally authorized. This means that water can be used without a license, but if more than 10 000 L/d has to be registered with DWS. General Authorisation is dependent on the abstraction limit of the catchment in which the use will take place and the size of the property, up to a maximum of 40 000 L/d. It is improbable that any groundwater use within urban limits will be authorised within this mechanism because erven are just too small. Accepting a General Authorisation of 75 000 L/ha/for most of Johannesburg and making a few reasonable assumptions, the volume of groundwater use permitted on an average erf amounts to just 20 L/d. A small holding of 1 ha would be permitted to abstract 205 L/d.

Any water use that falls outside of the provisions of Schedule 1 and General Authorisation is subject to a water use license. The drafters of the NWA recognised the need to only issue water use license in those instances where such water use could be detrimental to the resource and those dependent on it, including the environment. Unfortunately, in practice, the conservative implementation of the NWA results in most water use being subject to a license.

Despite President Ramaphosa requiring water use licenses be processed within 90 days, the reality remains that it takes years for some water use licenses to be administered. During the Cape Town drought of 2015 to 2019 it took an average of 792 days to obtain licenses for 56 groundwater schemes implemented to keep critical facilities (mostly hospitals and clinics) functional in the Day Zero scenario. One license remained outstanding for 1 256 days i.e., 3.5 years. And this was despite most of the water use being small (thus having insignificant impact, if any), having made special provisions with the authorities to fast-track the applications and the impending arrival of Day Zero.

I am told that the water use license application process has been improved. During 2023 to 2024 new applications were resolved within an average of 130 days. While this is still higher than the intended 90-day target and older applications remain unresolved, it suggests some progress in streamlining the process.

Given these realities, the question arises: Is the time, effort, and cost associated with protecting and managing groundwater resources justified? Rather than a simple “no,” the answer must consider the context. During the Cape Town drought, concerns were raised that the proliferation of domestic boreholes would negatively impact underlying aquifer. However, detailed groundwater level monitoring across Cape Town indicated that neither the drought nor the increased borehole use had significantly impacted the aquifer (See DM 19/04/2022). While the situation in Johannesburg requires further investigation, decisions regarding groundwater management should always be grounded in measurement, monitoring, and analysis, rather than speculation and misinformation.

There is a large knowledgeable and experienced groundwater community that can provide guidance on these matters. Registration of hydrogeologists and drillers is imperfect and, as in all things, you get the good and the bad. But the fact checking process can start with the Ground Water Division (of the Geological Society of South Africa) and the Borehole Water Association of Southern Africa. Both organisations have useful information on their websites, including a list of registered groundwater specialists. Asking the right people the right questions at the right time would be a good start.

By Dr Roger Parsons, a groundwater consultant