| (1) | An applicant or holder must appoint an independent specialist to conduct a hydrocensus fulfilling the standard requirements of the department responsible for water affairs which indicates potentially affected water resources, on at least, a 3 kilometres radius from the furthest point of potential horizontal drilling, as well as identify priority water source areas and domestic groundwater supplies indicated on relevant geohydrological maps. |
| (2) | An applicant or holder must prepare and submit, together with the water use licence application, to the department responsible for water affairs, a proposed water resource monitoring plan, for approval. The plan must at least identify— |
| (a) | the sampling methodology; |
| (b) | the monitoring points; |
| (c) | the monitoring parameters; |
| (d) | the monitoring frequency; and |
| (e) | the reporting frequency. |
| (3) | The monitoring plan contemplated in subregulation (2) must be submitted to the competent authority for consideration, as part of the application for Environmental Authorisation. |
| (4) | Water samples collected as part of the monitoring plan contemplated in subregulation (2) must be analysed by an accredited laboratory and the holder must submit the results and their interpretation to the designated agency and the department responsible for water affairs within 7 days after receipt thereof. |
| (5) | The results must at least include a detailed description of the sampling and testing conducted, including duplicate samples, the chain of custody of the samples and quality control of the testing. |
| (6) | A full water monitoring report must be included in the EMPr required in terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014. |
| (7) | A holder must, after conducting a baseline water quality assessment, continue with monitoring in accordance with the approved plan and must— |
| (a) | have the water resources subjected to sampling, analysis and interpretation of water quality and changes in water levels by an independent specialist approved by the designated agency in accordance with the approved plan contemplated in subregulation (2); |
| (b) | submit the results of the analysis and interpretation to the designated agency and the department responsible for water affairs within 7 days of receipt of the analysis and interpretation; and |
| (c) | submit the monitoring assessment reports in accordance with the approved monitoring plan contemplated in subregulation (2). |
(8)
| (a) | The designated agency, Council for Geoscience, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, designated local authorities or the department responsible for water affairs, may collect samples of fluids encountered in the exploration or production area (water or hydrocarbons, at depth or at the surface) for their own analysis and interpretation. |
| (b) | The holder must allow site access to the authorities mentioned in paragraph (a) for the purpose of collecting the samples. |
| (9) | Data collected as contemplated in this regulation must be published except where it may be shown to directly relate to the availability of petroleum and commercial value of the holder's acreage. |
| (10) | Groundwater aspects must be recorded and reported according to the department responsible for water affairs' Standard Descriptors for Geosites. |
| (11) | The holder must capture the water resource data generated into the relevant department responsible for water affairs' databases. |
[Regulation 88 inserted by section 2 of Notice No. R. 466 dated 3 June 2015]
