Department of Water and Sanitation’s proposed regulations on management and control of state dams and surrounding state land for recreational and commercial use, can have far-reaching consequences, threatening the economic lifelines for communities living beside dams across South Africa.

The proposed regulations prohibit access to dams except through formal leases.

The Vaal Marina and Vaal Dam for example has been central to many lives as a source of leisure and livelihood. Families have build memories along it’s shores, and many derive their income directly from activities related to the dam.

The DA and other stakeholders this week warned that the draft regulations don’t just limit access to water but also risk jobs, hurt tourism, and put pressure on small businesses and communities that rely on the country’s dams to survive.

The regulations restrict access changing water resources from public nature to controlled assets that require formal leases. The DA says with these regulations requiring ‘competent authority’ approval for every slipway jetty, and natural access point, it creates bureaucratic red tape. “

The party further warned that it will put the R13 million angling and tourism industries at risk by threating recreation as a privilege rather than a right.

Photos

• The proposed regulations also stipulate that any photography conducted on state land or on the water itself requires prior written approval from the relevant authority. Non-compliance with these provisions constitutes a criminal offence.

• Photographers may not ‘access the land next to the water surface, without concluding agreements with Department of Water and Sanitation.

“As the National Water Act already protects reasonable recrational use, these new rules ignore the law and use Recreational Management Plans (RMPs) to expropriate access via the back door.” the DA said.

Important to note is that these are proposed regulations which now forms part of a formal public participation process, and can still be amended based on public input.

Deadline for public comment

The closing date for public comment on the proposed regulations is tomorrow, April 15 at midnight.

Comment can be send

• via email to gww@dws.gov.za
• or via post to the Director-General, Department of Water and Sanitation, Private Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001
• or by hand: Sedibeng Building, 185 Francis Baard Street, Pretoria.
• The public participation platform Dear South Africa has also published a summary of the draft regulations and provides for public input via its website: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/dws-water-regulations/

An online petition has also been started and can be signed at https://c.org/C5mQ9dVzz6