LIMPOPO WATER MANAGEMENT AREA WATER RESOURCES SITUATION ASSESSMENT MAIN REPORT OVERVIEW The water resources of South Africa are vital to the health and prosperity of its people, the sustenance of its natural heritage and to its economic development. Water is a national resource that belongs to all the people who should therefore have equal access to it, and although the resource is renewable, it is finite and distributed unevenly both spatially and temporally. The water also occurs in many forms that are all part of a unitary and inter-dependent cycle. The National Government has overall responsibility for and authority over the nation’s water resources and their use, including the equitable allocation of water for beneficial and sustainable use, the redistribution of water and international water matters. The protection of the quality of water resources is also necessary to ensure sustainability of the nation’s water resources in the interests of all water users. This requires integrated management of all aspects of water resources and, where appropriate, the delegation of management functions to a regional or catchment level where all persons can have representative participation. This report is based on a desktop or reconnaissance level assessment of the available water resources and quality and also patterns of water requirements that existed during 1995 in the Limpopo Water Management Area, which occupies a portion of the Northern Province. The report does not address the water requirements beyond 1995 but does provide estimates of the utilisable potential of the water resources after so-called full development of these resources, as this can be envisaged at present. A separate national study has been conducted to consider future scenarios of land use and water requirements and the effects of water conservation and demand measures on these requirements and to identify alternative water resource developments and water transfers that will reconcile these requirements with the supplies. The main purpose of this report is to highlight the principal water related issues, to identify existing water shortages, to provide information that is necessary to formulate future strategies such as the national water resources strategy and catchment management strategies and to stimulate initial actions to ensure the best overall sustainable utilisation of the water, with minimal waste and harm to the aquatic ecosystems. The National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998), requires that a national water resources strategy (NWRS) be established that sets out the policies, strategies, objectives, plans, guidelines and procedures and the institutional arrangements for the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of water resources for the country as a whole, and establish and define the boundaries of water management areas taking into account catchment boundaries, socio-economic development patterns, efficiency considerations and communal interests. This strategy is binding on all authorities and institutions exercising powers or performing duties under the National Water Act. The national water resources strategy will, inter alia, provide for at least the requirements of the Reserve, international rights and obligations, actions required to meet projected future water needs and water use of strategic importance. Furthermore, it will contain estimates of present and future water requirements, set out principles relating to water conservation and demand management, give the total quantity of water available within each water management area, state the surpluses or deficits, provide for inter-catchment water transfers required to balance the supply with the requirements and state the objectives in respect of water quality to be achieved through the classification system to be provided for the water resources. A catchment management agency established in terms of the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998), must progressively develop a catchment management strategy, objectives, plans, guidelines and procedures for the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of water resources within its water management area. Such a strategy must not be in conflict with the national water resources strategy, must take into account the class of water resource and resource quality objectives, the requirements of the Reserve and any applicable international obligations, the geology, land use, climate, vegetation and waterworks within its water management area. The strategy shall contain water allocation plans, take account of any relevant national or regional plans prepared in terms of any other law; enable public participation and take into account the needs and expectations of existing and potential water users. This report provides the initial baseline data that can be used by the catchment management agency to develop its catchment management strategy, objectives, plans, guidelines and procedures for the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of the water resources in its area of responsibility. The national water resources strategy will be reviewed and published at five-yearly intervals, with Addenda being issued in the interim, when required. The strategy will give guidance to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in respect of the protection, use, development, conservation, management and control of water resources and will also serve as a very important means of communication with all the stakeholders. The overall responsibility for the compilation of the national water resources strategy rests with the Directorate: Strategic Planning of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, while the Directorate: Water Resources Planning is responsible for: • Identification of water resources to meet particular requirements • Identification of international rights and obligations • Identification of water use of strategic importance • Calculating water balances • Developing plans to reconcile water requirements and resources. A number of inter-related studies have therefore been included by the Directorate: Water Resources Planning of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in the national future scenario study that will supply the information required for formulating the strategies, as given above. The main objective of this water resources situation assessment has been to determine the water requirements of all the user sectors (including those of the riverine and estuarine ecosystems) and the ability of the available water resources to supply these requirements. However, other aspects such as water quality, legal and institutional aspects, macro-economics, existing infrastructure and international requirements have also been addressed. This report outlines the 1995 water resources situation, using information obtained from previous study reports to identify the main water related issues of concern. The large body of information available in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and from other sources has also been collated and presented in this assessment. This has been collected on a catchment basis at the quaternary catchment level of resolution. The levels of confidence that can be attached to the data on land use, water requirements and surface water and groundwater resources have however, been found to vary considerably because of the desktop nature of the study. This has therefore also provided a basis for identifying where improvements need to be made to the data in future and to prioritise such studies. It is also important to note that where information on land and water use and sensitive ecosystems is not given, this could be due to the fact that it does not exist or because it has not been documented in a format or source that is readily accessible. The larger inter-related studies that have supported this water resources situation assessment have been the following: • Development of a computerised database Data collected in this water resources situation assessment has been used to populate the database of the Chief Directorate: Planning of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. The database design has mainly been based on the requirements of a water balance model that has been developed to compare the water requirements with the available water resources. • Demographic study An important part in the development of the national water resources strategy is the future scenarios. Since water use is mainly driven by the requirements of the various socio- economic groupings of the population, a national demographic study was initiated. An important part of the study was an estimate of the base year (1995) population. The study has also associated the population with defined water user categories to facilitate estimating existing and future water requirements. These categories have inter alia been defined on the basis of reports on urban water supplies and questionnaires completed by local authorities. • Macro-economic study Economic activity and its effects on the spatial distribution of the population and vice versa is an important determinant of water use. With the ever-increasing need for water for domestic use and protection of the water resources, water availability is already becoming a limiting factor in various regions of the country. The economic viability of continuing to supply water for existing sectors, such as irrigation and also of expanding such activities to satisfy socio-economic aspirations will need careful consideration. A national macro-