Water Affairs in the Lower Blyde River the Role of DWAF in Local Water Management

Water Affairs in the Lower Blyde River The role of DWAF in local water management IWMI Working Paper B.W. Raven, April 2004, Wageningen Acknowledgments The author likes to thank specifically Barbara van Koppen (IWMI) and Jeroen Warner (Wageningen University) for their help and contribution to this case study. The author further thanks: Willy Enright (DWAF Western Cape), Edward Lahiff (Western Cape University), Cees Leeuwis (Wageningen University), Derek Weston and Francois van der Merwe (DWAF Pretoria), Gert Bezuidenhout Johan Du Preez (Lower Blyde River WUA) Francis Mohlala (Mametja / Sekororo communities), Marie Tinka Uys (Environmental issues Blyde River), Gerhard Backeberg (WRC Pretoria), Anthony Turton (AWIRU Pretoria), Herve Levite, Nicholas Faysse, Tebogo Seshoka and other colleagues of IWMI Pretoria. 1 Content 1 Introduction 1.1 Case Study: The Lower Blyde River 1.2 The Case Study in perspective: South Africa and The Netherlands 1.3 Case Study Objectives 2 General Background 2.1 Multi Stakeholder Participation 2.2 Former SA irrigation policy 2.3 The new SA water policy: NWA 1998 2.4 Building CMAs and WUAs 3 The Lower Blyde River 3.1 The Blyde River Catchment 3.2 Stakeholders 3.2.1 Irrigation Farmers 3.2.2 Mametja / Sekororo Communities 3.2.3 Upstream Stakeholders 3.2.4 Downstream Stakeholders 3.2.5 Governments involved 4 Water Management in the Lower Blyde River 4.1 The Lower Blyde WUA 4.2 The Lower Blyde Irrigation Pipeline 4.3 The 800ha Black Emerging Farmers Project 4.4 Domestic Water Supply Mametja / Sekororo communities 5 Conclusions Bibliography Annex: list of interviews 2 1 Introduction “The new South Africa is the world in microcosm, in its population mix, its wealth gap and above all in the impact which the new forces of globalisation are having on it. Here is where the First and Third Worlds meet, the developed and developing world, the dark-skinned and light-skinned worlds, the rich and the poor, in the same proportions as the rest of the global village of roughly one to five”. (Sparks 2003, prologue) 1.1 Case Study: The Lower Blyde River The Blyde River is unique in the region for its continuous flow and good water quality and is an important tributary for the Olifants River. The Olifants River is of poor water quality and during droughts there is a lack of sufficient flow. The lower Olifants River basin therefore relies highly on Blyde River water, not only from a quality perspective but also from a quantity perspective. The Blyde River flows into the Olifants River immediately north of the Blyde River irrigation district. The flow of the Lower Blyde River is stabilised to some extent by the Blyderivierspoort Dam (1974). The dam is situated just below the confluence of the Ohrigstad and Blyde Rivers. The Blyde River region embraces different stakeholders. Blyde river water is used for agricultural, industrial and domestic purposes. At the lower Blyde River there is a relatively small white commercial irrigated farm area (aprox. 400 km2). Adjacent to this irrigation district there are extensive black surrounding communities. Pockets of relative wealth with good infrastructure are neighbouring large black communities suffering poverty and sometimes basic infrastructure. The poor domestic water infrastructure is considered the most pressing problem in the black communities. In the wider region the Phalaborwa mines (mainly phosphor) further downstream are an important stakeholder. The Blyde River Canyon (in the upper catchment) is the third largest canyon in the world and attracts around 900,000 tourists per year. The booming sectors of (eco)tourism, game farms and nature conservation (Kruger National Park, Biosphere Kruger to Canyon) have a growing interest in the development of the Blyde River. Socio-economically the borders between the former homelands (Lebowa and Gazankulu) and the white areas still exist (USAID 2002). The National Water Act (1998) provides a new institutional framework for water management in South Africa. DWAF is in a process of reorganisation and is delegating powers towards regional Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) and Water Users Associations (WUAs). Former Irrigation Boards have to be transformed into WUAs. The process for establishing a CMA in the Olifants River Cathment is in its final stages. Ultimately 50 WUAs are identified in the Olifants basin. In the Olifants basin 17 Irrigation Boards have to be transformed; so far 3 WUAs have been established. These are the Lebalelo WUA, the Hereford WUA and the Lower Blyde WUA (DWAF, 2003). This case study focuses on developments in the Lower Blyde River area. Recently the existing Irrigation Board has been transformed into a WUA. The establishment of an irrigation pipeline marks a crucial phase in the region. Connected with this pipeline is a project to establish 800ha emerging farmers in the region. Improvement of the 3 domestic water supply for the neighbouring black communities is another important project in the area. One idea is to link the irrigation pipeline with an extension pipeline for domestic water supply. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) plays a central role in facilitating integrated water resource management in the Lower Blyde River. 1.2 The Case Study in perspective: South Africa and The Netherlands This case study in the Lower Blyde River can be put into a wider perspective in which local water management is changing all over the globe. The Blyde River basin is a highly complex, diverse and heterogeneous region in ecological and socio-economic terms. Modern governance all over the world is confronted with processes of growing complexity, diversity and heterogeneity. The interdependence between ecology and human life can only be ignored at a high price (Long 2001, Pyburn 2002 Roling, 2002). News bulletins are telling stories of growing water scarcity, catastrophic floods and food insecurity all over the globe. Good governance in water management has become urgent. Dynamic new ways will have to be explored aiming towards a more sustainable and equitable future. At first sight South Africa as a semi arid and water scarce country and The Netherlands as a flood prone river delta do not have much in common regarding water management issues. Nevertheless South Africa and The Netherlands are both facing growing water constraints and both countries are in a transition from water resource development to integrated water resource management. Furthermore both countries are in the process of (re) building new institutions in local water management. Both in South Africa and The Netherlands (local) water management is in a period of fundamental institutional change. The promotion of sustainable ecosystems and the enhancement of socio-economic equity (including poverty alleviation) are strongly connected with the way water is managed. Tensions between different stakeholders can arise easily on water issues of use, pollution, ecology, closure of basins. Complexity, diversity and dynamics are connected with modern water governance, therefore new ways should be explored (Kooiman, 1998). Both South African and Dutch recent water legislation and water policy highly advocate multi-stakeholder participation and self-management. In South Africa water resources are increasingly strained. The new revolutionary National Water Act (NWA 1998) breaks away from the apartheid legislation and tries to redress former inequities based on the principles of integrated water recourse management (IWRM). In the Netherlands the national Committee on a new Water Management Policy in the 21st Century (installed after serious floods in 1993, 1995 and 1998) stated that a fundamental change in Dutch water awareness and management is needed. In the Netherlands the Dutch Water Boards have a long institutional history as autonomous, diverse and flexible local water management bodies. Recent years brought enormous change for the Water Boards. The Water Boards have seen an ongoing merging process from 3000 in 1950 towards 50 in 2003. Since the 1992 Water Board Act the Water Boards have been evolved into more formalised local government institutions. In South Africa a more top-down process of delegation takes place from the national to the local level by creating new institutions such as 4 Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) and Water Users Associations (WUAs). The existing Irrigation Boards in South Africa are to be transformed into WUAs. Comparison of institutional developments in local water management in South Africa and The Netherlands can dovetail two different experiences (top down vs. bottom up). This Case Study is part of a comparative PhD study on institutional innovation in local water management in South Africa and The Netherlands. Finally the PhD study is part of a global research programme on multi-stakeholder platforms for integrated catchment management by Wageningen University in the Netherlands (MSP programme). 1.3 Case Study Objectives and Methods The objective of this case study is to better understand the role of the Department of Water Affairs and Forrestry (DWAF) in facilitating Integrated Water Resource Management in the Lower Blyde River. To reach this objective it is necessary to have knowledge of the context, the Blyde River Catchment, the different stakeholders and the local water institutions and water issues. Chapter 1 introduces the Lower Blyde River Case Study. Chapter 2 gives a general background on stakeholder participation in South African water management. Chapter 3 focuses on the physical and hydrological characteristics of the Blyde River Catchment (3.1). This is followed by a description of the different stakeholders involved in the Lower Blyde River (3.2). Chapter 4 addresses the Lower Blyde Water Users Association (4.1) and the current local water projects in the area (4.2, 4.3, 4.5). The role of DWAF in the different water management issues is included in this chapter. Chapter 5 concludes with an analysis of the research findings. This case study took place in the period from August 2003 till November 2003.

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