Most Household Borehole Users Do Not Need to Register

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) welcomes the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) written confirmation that ordinary households using borehole water for reasonable domestic purposes do not need to register under the current national water-use registration process.

The clarification follows OUTA’s formal request to the DWS after Government Notice 54575 and the department’s recent 90-day water-use registration campaign caused widespread confusion. Many homeowners who depend on boreholes because of unreliable municipal water services believed they could face penalties or even criminal prosecution if they failed to register.

“South Africans should not have to fear prosecution simply because they installed a borehole to keep water flowing when municipal systems fail,” said Julius Kleynhans, Executive Manager at OUTA.

“We engaged the DWS on behalf of concerned residents, and we welcome its prompt response in clarifying the legal position for domestic borehole users.”

Who is exempt?

Schedule 1 of the National Water Act allows certain low-impact water uses without the need for a water-use licence or formal registration. These include reasonable domestic household use, watering a small non-commercial garden, watering livestock within normal grazing limits, harvesting rainwater, using water during emergencies and certain recreational water uses.

The exemption applies only where the water use is reasonable and non-commercial.

The DWS has confirmed that:

• Households using borehole water for reasonable domestic purposes are exempt from registration.
• Small, non-commercial home gardens irrigated from household boreholes are also exempt.
• There is no prescribed volume threshold for domestic groundwater use. The deciding factor is whether the use is reasonable and non-commercial.
• Domestic users whose water use falls within Schedule 1 cannot be penalised or prosecuted for failing to register.
• The current 90-day registration process does not apply to Schedule 1 domestic users. It applies only to water uses that require registration, including licensed, existing lawful and general authorised water uses.
• Commercial, agricultural, industrial and other high-volume groundwater users must register with the relevant Catchment Management Agency.
• The DWS encourages households to voluntarily submit technical borehole information to improve groundwater management, but this is separate from the legal requirement to register water use.

“This clarification provides long-overdue legal certainty for ordinary households that have invested significant amounts of money simply to secure access to one of life’s basic necessities after repeated municipal water interruptions,” said Kleynhans.

“It also provides certainty for domestic users living on smallholdings and other properties that are not connected to municipal water services.”

Across South Africa, more households are turning to boreholes as municipalities struggle with ageing infrastructure, water losses, intermittent supply and deteriorating water services. For many families, boreholes are no longer a luxury but an essential backup to failing municipal systems.

OUTA supports responsible management of South Africa’s groundwater resources through sound science and appropriate regulation. However, regulation must be clear, lawful and proportionate. It must distinguish between ordinary domestic users and high-volume commercial abstractors whose activities may have a material impact on groundwater resources.

“Good governance depends on legal certainty,” said Kleynhans.

“People are far more likely to comply with the law when government communicates clearly and consistently. We therefore welcome the DWS’s efforts to clarify the legal position and remove unnecessary uncertainty.”

OUTA also notes that the DWS confirmed that municipal borehole requirements contained in local by-laws remain separate from the National Water Act registration process.

OUTA thanks the DWS for its constructive engagement and encourages commercial, agricultural, industrial and other groundwater users who are required to register to comply with the prescribed legal requirements.

This outcome demonstrates the value of constructive civic engagement in ensuring that legislation is correctly interpreted, clearly communicated and properly understood by the public.