09/10/2026
In South Africa, it's not the borehole you register. ๐๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฐ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐. That's what decides whether you need a Water Use Licence (WULA) or not. ๐ง
Since 1998, water has been a national resource. It doesn't belong to the landowner anymore, which is a big shift from the old 1956 Water Act.
๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐?
๐น Small-scale domestic use, gardening or livestock (Schedule 1): no registration or licence needed.
๐น Within your catchment's General Authorisation limit: you need to register.
๐น Over that limit: you need a Water Use Licence.
๐๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ? It's your quaternary catchment's GA volume multiplied by your property size in hectares.
๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ: changing your intended water use halfway through the application. One licence per property means any change can send you back to the start. We know of a Western Cape application that was rejected after two years for exactly this reason. Two years. Then a brand new application.
Our advice? ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ, ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ.
And a heads up on timing: submitting a WULA can take 3 to 6 months, and the assessment afterwards can take a lot longer. Once you've got the licence, the compliance work starts (reports, audits, sometimes within 3 months).
It's a lot. That's why we're here. From feasibility studies to submissions to audits, we'll walk you through it so you don't lose your water supply to red tape.
๐ฉ [email protected] | ๐ +27 21 880 1079
