DRAFT NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE STRATEGY 2ND EDITION

The CER evaluates the draft NWRS2 against its previous 'Stop Treading Water' report, supporting goals to improve Department of Water Affairs (DWA) stability and the establishment of Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs). However, it criticizes the draft for lacking specific timeframes and financial details, failing to afford legal status to Catchment Management Forums (CMFs), and omitting necessary reforms for the Water Tribunal. The CER specifically warns that proposed revisions to the 'Reserve' for economic development may complicate its implementation and threaten ecosystems.

• The draft NWRS2 acknowledges critical failures in the Department of Water Affairs (DWA), including a lack of leadership, governance, oversight, and the loss of institutional knowledge and competence.
• The CER supports the draft NWRS2's plan to accelerate the establishment of 9 Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) by 2015 and the delegation of water use licenses to at least 4 CMAs over three years.
• The draft NWRS2 proposes revising the 'Reserve' to facilitate economic development and poverty eradication, which the CER argues may require an amendment to the National Water Act (NWA) and could further delay implementation and threaten ecosystems.
• Water use authorization is identified as a critical business risk, with significant backlogs; only 10% of water is currently used under licenses, and 57% of water services authorities lacked appropriate licenses for wastewater treatment in 2007.
• Compliance monitoring and enforcement (CME) are severely deficient, with national non-compliance levels at 88% and limited departmental capacity to enforce Water Use License (WUL) conditions.
• The draft NWRS2 completely omits the Water Tribunal, which the CER argues is essential for hearing administrative appeals but suffers from issues regarding the appointment of non-lawyers to determine legal questions and restrictive legal standing for affected parties.
• The CER argues that the draft NWRS2 lacks the necessary detail and clear timeframes required for accountability and a comprehensive five-yearly review as mandated by the NWA.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2012). DRAFT NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE STRATEGY 2ND EDITION. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CER-Submissions-to-PC.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. DRAFT NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE STRATEGY 2ND EDITION. 2012. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CER-Submissions-to-PC.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=DRAFT NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE STRATEGY 2ND EDITION |date=18 October 2012 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CER-Submissions-to-PC.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2012draft, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{DRAFT NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE STRATEGY 2ND EDITION}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2012}, month = oct, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CER-Submissions-to-PC.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }