Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use

This 2021 industry brief by GreenCape provides a guide for businesses and water users in South Africa on the sustainable use and management of groundwater. It outlines the legal framework under the National Water Act, the risks associated with unmonitored abstraction, and technical recommendations for borehole monitoring to ensure long-term water security.

• South Africa faces significant water scarcity, with a projected 17% water supply deficit by 2030. To mitigate this, the country aims to diversify its water mix by 2040 through sources including desalinated seawater, water reuse, treated acid mine drainage, and increased groundwater usage.
• Groundwater is a critical resource for South Africa, with a potential sustainable yield of approximately 7,500 million m3/annum, though the reliable yield is lower at approximately 2,785 million m3/annum (about 15%). Irrigation accounts for roughly 64% of extracted groundwater, while mining and domestic consumption use about 8%.
• Groundwater use is regulated by the National Water Act (36 of 1998), which requires that use be monitored, measured, recorded, and registered. Depending on the volume and purpose, use may fall under Schedule 1 (low volume/domestic, capped at 10 kℓ/day), Existing Lawful Use (pre-1998), General Authorisation (GA), or require a Water Use Licence (WUL).
• Unmonitored abstraction and over-exploitation pose risks to groundwater sustainability, including land subsidence, decreasing water tables, contamination, salinization, and the risk of boreholes pumping dry. Effective management requires monitoring not just abstraction volumes, but also water levels and quality.
• To ensure sustainable management, the guide recommends equipping boreholes with four specific components: a compulsory flow volume meter, an observation pipe (32mm inner diameter), an electronic water level logger (costing between R5,000 and R11,000), and a sampling tap for quality monitoring.
• Case studies of Distell and Coca Cola Peninsula Beverages demonstrate that using a scientific approach—including WULs, telemetry for real-time monitoring of pH and electrical conductivity (EC), and water level loggers—allows businesses to optimize pumping rates and ensure a reliable, long-term water supply.

APA

Mpofu, A., & Barrow, D. (2021). Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SUSTAINABLE_GROUNDWATER_USE_9_4_21-3.pdf

Chicago

Mpofu, Ashton, and Dale Barrow. Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use. GreenCape, 2021. https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SUSTAINABLE_GROUNDWATER_USE_9_4_21-3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mpofu |first1=Ashton |last2=Barrow |first2=Dale |title=Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use |publisher=GreenCape |date=2021 |url=https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SUSTAINABLE_GROUNDWATER_USE_9_4_21-3.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mpofu2021alternative, author = {Mpofu, Ashton and Barrow, Dale}, title = {{Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2021}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SUSTAINABLE_GROUNDWATER_USE_9_4_21-3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }