How do you get a water use licence in South Africa?

The legal framework: section 21 water uses

The National Water Act 36 of 1998 lists eleven water uses in section 21, lettered (a) to (k). These include taking water from a resource, storing water, impeding or diverting a watercourse, altering its bed or banks, discharging waste or wastewater, and irrigating with wastewater. Any activity that falls within these categories must be authorised in one of three ways before it may lawfully take place.

The three routes are Schedule 1 use, which needs no paperwork; a General Authorisation, which is a registration against published conditions; and a full water use licence, decided on the merits of a specific application. Which route applies depends on volume, catchment status and the nature of the impact, not on the applicant's preference.

Schedule 1 versus a General Authorisation

Schedule 1 covers reasonable domestic use, small-scale non-commercial gardening, watering of stock within the grazing capacity of the land, emergency firefighting and recreational use. No registration or fee applies, but the exemption disappears the moment use becomes commercial in scale.

A General Authorisation, currently published and periodically amended under Government Notice 509 of 2016, sets binding volume and quality limits per water management area. Registering under a GA is materially faster and cheaper than a licence, but conditions are audited and DWS can withdraw the benefit of the GA for non-compliance.

• Schedule 1: no application, no fee, limited to small-scale and domestic use
• General Authorisation: register with DWS, comply with published limits, faster route
• Full licence: required above GA limits or for storage, diversion or discharge

The full WULA process and e-WULAAS

Where use exceeds General Authorisation limits, or involves storage under section 21(b), impeding or diverting a watercourse under section 21(c), altering a bed or bank under section 21(i), or discharging waste under section 21(f) to (h), a full water use licence application is required. Applications are lodged on the department's electronic Water Use Licence Application and Authorisation System, known as e-WULAAS.

A complete WULA needs a technical report describing the water use, a water balance, and specialist studies appropriate to the risk, typically hydrology, geohydrology and wetland delineation. Public participation, including notice to registered interested and affected parties, is a statutory requirement before a Record of Decision can be issued under section 41.

Realistic timelines and costs

DWS regulations set statutory turnaround targets, but in practice a General Authorisation registration takes roughly two to four months, and a full licence application realistically runs twelve to twenty-four months from lodgement to a Record of Decision. Stressed catchments, incomplete studies or unresolved objections extend this further.

Fixed fees for a General Authorisation registration typically range from R25,000 to R55,000, and a full WULA from R120,000 to R320,000 depending on the specialist studies required. Government application fees are included in our quoted amount; third-party specialist studies are quoted separately once screening confirms scope.

Unauthorised or historical water use

Where water use has already begun without the correct authorisation, applying without disclosure is a mistake. The department can issue a directive under section 19 or section 53 of the Act, and unlawful use carries criminal exposure under section 151. The safer approach is to disclose the position and run a rectification-style application alongside the licence process.