National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998)Chapter 13 : Access to and Rights Over LandPart 1 : Entry and inspection125. Powers and duties of authorised persons |
| (1) | An authorised person may, at any reasonable time and without prior notice, enter or cross a property with the necessary persons, vehicles, equipment and material in order to carry out routine inspections of the use of water under any authorisation. |
| (2) | An authorised person may enter a property with the necessary persons, vehicles, equipment and material— |
| (a) | after giving reasonable notice to the owner or occupier of the property, which notice must state the purpose of the proposed entry; and |
| (b) | after obtaining the consent of the owner or occupier of that property in order to— |
| (i) | clean, repair, maintain, remove or demolish any government waterwork operated by any water management institution; |
| (ii) | undertake any work necessary for cleaning, clearing, stabilising and repairing the water resource and protecting the resource quality |
| (iii) | establish the suitability of any water resource or site for constructing a waterwork; |
| (iv) | undertake any work necessary to comply with an obligation imposed on any person under this Act, where that person has failed to fulfil that obligation; |
| (v) | erect any structure and to install and operate any equipment on a temporary basis for monitoring and gathering information on water resources; or |
| (vi) | bring heavy equipment on to a property or occupy a property for any length of time. |
| (3) | An authorised person may, at any reasonable time and without prior notice, on the authority of a warrant, enter a property with the necessary persons, vehicles, equipment and material, and perform any action necessary to- |
| (a) | investigate whether this Act, any condition attached to any authorised water use by or under this Act or any notice or directive is being contravened; |
| (b) | investigate whether any information supplied in connection with the use of water is accurate; or |
| (c) | carry out any of the activities referred to in subsection (2) where the consent of the owner or occupier of that property has been withheld. |
| (4) | A warrant referred to in subsection (3) must be issued by a judge or a magistrate who has jurisdiction in the area where the property in question is situated, and must only be issued if it appears from information obtained on oath that- |
| (a) | there are reasonable grounds for believing that this Act, any condition attached to any authorised water use by or under this Act or any notice or directive, is being contravened; |
| (b) | there are reasonable grounds for believing that any information supplied in connection with the use of water is inaccurate; or |
| (c) | it is necessary to carry out an activity mentioned in subsection (2) and access to that property has been denied. |
| (5) | If a warrant is likely to be issued if applied for but the delay involved in obtaining a warrant is likely to defeat the object of an inspection in terms of subsection (3)(a) or (b), an authorised person may enter a property without a warrant. |
| (6) | An authorised person entering property in terms of this section must, at the request of any person on that property, identify himself or herself and present a certificate of appointment contemplated in section 124(2). |
| (7) | Notwithstanding any provision of this section an authorised person may not, under any circumstances, enter a dwelling without the consent of the occupier or without a warrant authorising entry. |