National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998)Chapter 4 : Use of WaterPart 2 : Considerations, conditions and essential requirements of general authorisations and licences29. Conditions for issue of general authorisations and licences |
| (1) | A responsible authority may attach conditions to every general authorisation or licence— |
| (a) | relating to the protection of— |
| (i) | the water resource in question; |
| (ii) | the stream flow regime; and |
| (iii) | other existing and potential water users; |
| (b) | relating to water management by— |
| (i) | specifying management practices and general requirements for any water use, including water conservation measures; |
| (ii) | requiring the monitoring and analysis of and reporting on every water use and imposing a duty to measure and record aspects of water use, specifying measuring and recording devices to be used; |
| (iii) | requiring the preparation and approval of and adherence to, a water management plan; |
| (iv) | requiring the payment of charges for water use as provided for in Chapter 5. |
| (v) | requiring the licensee to provide or make water available to a person specified in the licence; and |
| (vi) | in the case of a general authorisation, requiring the registration of the water use with the responsible authority and the payment of a registration fee as a pre-condition of that use; |
| (c) | relating to return flow and discharge or disposal of waste, by— |
| (i) | specifying a water resource to which it must be returned or other manner in which it must be disposed of; |
| (ii) | specifying permissible levels for some or all of its chemical and physical components; |
| (iii) | specifying treatment to which it must be subjected, before it is discharged; and |
| (iv) | specifying the volume which may be returned; |
| (d) | in the case of a controlled activity— |
| (i) | specifying the waste treatment, pollution control and monitoring equipment to be installed, maintained and operated; and |
| (ii) | specifying the management practices to be followed to prevent the pollution of any water resource; |
| (e) | in the case of taking or storage of water— |
| (i) | setting out the specific quantity of water or percentage of flow which may be taken; |
| (ii) | setting out the rate of abstraction; |
| (iii) | specifying the method of construction of a borehole and the method of abstraction from the borehole; |
| (iv) | specifying the place from where water may be taken; |
| (v) | specifying the times when water may be taken; |
| (vi) | identifying or limiting the area of land on which any water taken from a resource may be used; |
| (vii) | limiting the quantity of water which may be stored; |
| (viii) | specifying locations where water may be stored; and |
| (ix) | requiring the licensee to become a member of a water user association before water may be taken; |
| (f) | in the case of a stream flow reduction activity— |
| (i) | specifying practices to be followed to limit stream flow reduction and other detrimental impacts on the water resource; and |
| (ii) | setting or prescribing a method for determining the extent of the stream flow reduction caused by the authorised activity; |
| (g) | which are necessary or desirable to achieve the purpose for which the licence was issued; |
| (h) | which are necessary or desirable to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act; and |
| (i) | in the case of a licence— |
| (i) | specifying times when water may or may not be used; |
| (ii) | containing provisions for its termination if an authorised use of water is not implemented or not fully implemented; |
| (iii) | designating water for future or contingent use; or |
| (iv) | which have been agreed to by the licensee. |
| (2) | If a licensee has agreed to pay compensation to another person in terms of any arrangement to use water, the responsible authority may make the obligation to pay compensation a condition of the licence. |