Dam registration. Why and When – By Damian Hans

Agricultural compliance has recently become more strict regarding the registration of water sources and water use licenses (WUL). Therefore, as a producer with unregistered water sources or no water authorisations, there is a good chance that in your next audit, you will be presented with a non-compliance finding. It is an important and mandatory step to take, as using excessive volumes of water for commercial purposes without an authorisation will trigger the National Water Act 36 of 1998.

The storage of water, such as capturing water in a dam, is regarded as a water-use and requires registration and an authorisation if the dam stores more than 50 000 cubic meters or has a dam wall higher than 5m. To apply for an authorisation, the online E-WULAAS platform can be used. This process involves four steps, the pre-application phase, application phase, site inspection phase and technical reporting phase. SkyVines can assist you with the registration of your water sources and water use license applications.

Contact Water Specialist Damian Hans – enviro@skyvines.co.za