New strategy to light path for sustainable groundwater use

Abstract

Groundwater management For decades groundwater was considered the ‘poor cousin’ of water resources in South Africa. Its mysterious and hidden nature, coupled with an overall lack of knowledge about the country’s aquifers, resulted in groundwater development being largely confined to small, rural areas of South Africa. The problem has been compounded by groundwater’s historic status as a ‘private’ water resource under the country’s former national water laws. Prior to 1998 groundwater was legally the property of the owner of the land under which it was found, making it difficult to assess and manage regionally.

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