The Department of Water and Sanitation has confirmed that ordinary households using boreholes for reasonable domestic purposes are not required to register under the current national water-use registration process, bringing relief to thousands of homeowners across the country.
The clarification follows an engagement by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) with the department after Government Notice 54575 and a subsequent 90-day registration campaign caused widespread confusion among residents who depend on boreholes due to unreliable municipal water services.
Many homeowners feared they could face penalties or criminal prosecution if they failed to register their household boreholes.
“South Africans should not have to fear prosecution simply because they installed a borehole to keep water flowing when municipal systems fail,” said Julius Kleynhans, executive manager at OUTA.
Legal exemptions clarified
Schedule 1 of the National Water Act allows certain low-impact water uses without requiring a water-use licence or formal registration. These include reasonable domestic household use, watering small non-commercial gardens, watering livestock within normal grazing limits, harvesting rainwater, using water during emergencies and certain recreational water uses.
The department confirmed that households using borehole water for reasonable domestic purposes are exempt from registration, as are small non-commercial home gardens irrigated from household boreholes. There is no prescribed volume threshold for domestic groundwater use, with the deciding factor being whether the use is reasonable and non-commercial.
Domestic users whose water use falls within Schedule 1 cannot be penalised or prosecuted for failing to register, and the current 90-day registration process does not apply to them.
Commercial users still required to register
Commercial, agricultural, industrial and other high-volume groundwater users remain legally required to register with the relevant catchment management agency. The registration process applies only to water uses that require registration, including licensed, existing lawful and general authorised water uses.
The department encourages households to voluntarily submit technical borehole information to improve groundwater management, but this remains separate from the legal requirement to register water use.
Growing reliance on boreholes
Across South Africa, more households are turning to boreholes as municipalities struggle with ageing infrastructure, water losses, intermittent supply and deteriorating water services. For many families, boreholes have become essential backups to failing municipal systems rather than luxury additions.
“This clarification provides long-overdue legal certainty for ordinary households that have invested significant amounts of money simply to secure access to one of life’s basic necessities after repeated municipal water interruptions,” said Kleynhans.
The department noted that municipal borehole requirements contained in local by-laws remain separate from the National Water Act registration process.
OUTA encouraged commercial, agricultural, industrial and other groundwater users who are required to register to comply with the prescribed legal requirements.
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