Alternative Water Sources: Sustainable Groundwater Use

The document outlines the strategic importance of groundwater in South Africa, detailing the legal requirements under the National Water Act and providing technical recommendations for borehole monitoring to prevent depletion and contamination.

• South Africa faces significant water scarcity, with a projected 17% water supply deficit by 2030, necessitating a shift toward alternative sources including groundwater, desalinated seawater, and water reuse.
• Groundwater is a critical national asset with a potential sustainable yield of approximately 7,500 million m3/annum, though the reliable yield is lower at about 2,785 million m3/annum.
• Groundwater usage in South Africa is dominated by irrigation (64%), followed by mining and domestic consumption (8%), with over 74% of the rural population entirely dependent on this resource.
• The National Water Act (36 of 1998) regulates groundwater use through several mechanisms: Schedule 1 for low-volume domestic use (capped at 10 kℓ/day), Existing Lawful Use (ELU) for rights obtained before 1998, General Authorisations (GA) for specific abstraction rates, and Water Use Licences (WUL) for uses not covered by other categories.
• Sustainable groundwater management requires monitoring beyond simple abstraction volumes to include water levels and quality; failure to do so can lead to boreholes pumping dry, salinization, and land subsidence.
• To ensure informed management, the document recommends equipping boreholes with a compulsory flow volume meter, an observation pipe (32mm inner diameter), an electronic water level logger, and a sampling tap for quality monitoring.
• Case studies of Distell and Coca Cola Peninsula Beverages demonstrate that implementing scientific monitoring—including telemetry and real-time measurement of pH and electrical conductivity—allows for the optimization of pumping rates and ensures long-term water security.

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} }