About us | Contact Us

  • Home
    • What We Do
    • Contact Us
    • Your Input
  • Plans & Policies
    • Farm Production
      • Fruits and Vegetables
      • Grains
      • Wine production
      • Livestock Farming
      • Freshwater Aquaculture
    • Land Tenure and Policy
    • Biodiversity and Conservation
      • Climate Change
      • Invasive Plants
    • Labour and Ethics
    • Agricultural Economics
    • Energy
    • Water
    • International Treaties
    • Agri-processing
    • Agricultural Value Chain
  • Agri Resilience
    • Sustainable practices
      • Conservation Agriculture
      • Soil Health
      • Organics
      • Biocontrol
      • Companion Planting and Cover Crops
      • Biodynamic Agriculture
      • Sustainable Practices FAQs
    • Livestock
      • Livestock FAQs
    • Plants
      • Plants FAQs
    • Energy
      • Energy FAQs
      • EIA Guideline for Renewable Energy Projects
      • Energy Efficiency in Agriculture
      • Solar Energy in Agriculture
      • Biogas in Agriculture
    • Water
      • Water Compliance
      • Water Resilience
      • Irrigation
      • Water in Agri-processing
      • Water FAQs
    • Carbon Credits
    • Climate and Forecasting
      • Weather and Climate
      • Drought in Agriculture
      • Climate FAQs
    • Agtech
      • Water agtech
      • Controlled Environment Agriculture
      • Precision Agriculture
      • AgTech FAQs
  • Agri Directory
    • Soil Health
    • Water Resilience Contacts
    • Energy
    • Conservation Agriculture
    • Carbon Tax
    • Livestock
    • Case Studies
      • Energy
      • Water
      • Regenerative agriculture
      • Intensive Farming
      • Financing
    • Online Tools
      • Cape Farm Mapper
      • Western Cape Agri Stats
      • Agri-Outlook
      • CCC - Fruit & Wine Calculator
      • Climate Information Platforms
      • Fruitlook
      • CAMIS
      • Alternative Waste Treatment Guide
      • Land Use Decision Support Tool and Maps
      • Green Building Materials Catalogue
      • Better Barley, Better Beer Audit Check-list
      • OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook
      • Spatial Datasets Downloads
      • Food Miles Calculator
      • Radio Elsenburg
      • Green Compliance tool: Environmental legislation made easy
      • Sustainable production initiatives
      • Podcasts
    • Projects & Research
      • Energy
      • Water
      • Commodities
      • Livestock
      • Agtech
      • Conservation Agriculture
      • Soil Health
      • General Sustainability
      • Aquaculture
      • Sustainable farming initiatives Western Cape
  • Agri Funding
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Business Incentives
    • Business Planning support
    • Further Education
  • SmartAgri
    • About
    • SmartAgri plan
    • Briefs and Case Studies
    • Evaluation of the SmartAgri Plan
    • Presentations and Media
    • SmartAgri Newsletter
    • Case Studies
  • Events and Workshops
  • Trending Topics
  • Library
  • Home
    What We Do Contact Us Your Input
  • Plans & Policies

    Plans & Policies

    Farm Production

    • Fruits and Vegetables
    • Grains
    • Wine production
    • Livestock Farming
    • Freshwater Aquaculture

    Agricultural Value Chain

    Land Tenure and Policy

    Biodiversity and Conservation

    • Climate Change
    • Invasive Plants

    Labour and Ethics

    Agricultural Economics

    Energy

    Water

    International Treaties

    Agri-processing

  • Agri Resilience

    Agri Resilience

    Sustainable practices

    • Conservation Agriculture
    • Soil Health
    • Organics
    • Biocontrol
    • Companion Planting and Cover Crops
    • Biodynamic Agriculture
    • Sustainable Practices FAQs

    Livestock

    • Livestock & Poultry FAQs

    Plants

    • Plants FAQs

    Energy

    • Energy FAQs
    • EIA Guideline for Renewable Energy Projects
    • Energy Efficiency in Agriculture
    • Solar Energy in Agriculture
    • Biogas in Agriculture

    Water

    • Water Compliance
    • Water Resilience
    • Irrigation
    • Water in Agri-processing
    • Water FAQs

    Carbon Credits

    Climate and Forecasting

    • Weather and Climate
    • Drought in Agriculture
    • Climate FAQs

    Agtech

    • Water agtech
    • Controlled Environment Agriculture
    • Precision Agriculture
    • AgTech FAQs
  • Agri Directory

    Agri Directory

    Soil Health

    Water Resilience Contacts

    Energy

    Conservation Agriculture

    Carbon Tax

    Livestock

    Case Studies

    • Energy
    • Water
    • Regenerative agriculture
    • Intensive Farming
    • Financing

    Projects & Research

    • Energy
    • Water
    • Commodities
    • Livestock
    • Agtech
    • Conservation Agriculture
    • Soil Health
    • General Sustainability
    • Aquaculture
    • Sustainable farming initiatives Western Cape

    Online Tools

    • Cape Farm Mapper
    • Western Cape Agri Stats
    • Agri-Outlook
    • CCC - Fruit & Wine Calculator
    • Climate Information Platforms
    • Fruitlook
    • CAMIS
    • Alternative Waste Treatment Guide
    • Land Use Decision Support Tool and Maps
    • Green Building Materials Catalogue
    • Better Barley, Better Beer Audit Check List
    • OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook
    • Spatial Datasets Downloads
    • Food Miles Calculator
    • Radio Elsenburg
    • Green Compliance tool: Environmental legislation made easy
    • Sustainable production initiatives
    • Podcasts
  • Agri Funding

    Agri Funding

    Funding Opportunities

    Business Incentives

    Business Planning support

    Further Education

  • SmartAgri

    SmartAgri

    About

    SmartAgri plan

    Evaluation of the SmartAgri Plan

    Briefs and Case Studies

    SmartAgri Newsletter

    Case Studies

    Presentations and Media

  • Events and Workshops
  • Trending Topics
  • Library
Agri Resilience » Water » Water FAQs

Water FAQs

1. Water quantity and drought

  • What are the water levels in the Western Cape reservoirs?
    • Western Cape dam levels, water storage weekly status map and state of dams data
    • City of Cape Town’s weekly dam level and consumption dashboard
  • What is the Government doing to manage water better in the event of another drought?
    • All tiers of government are actively preparing for better water management in the face of another drought crisis through water restriction policies and procedures, reducing their own consumption and leakages, awareness raising, augmenting supply, amongst other interventions. For the latest updates please refer to the links in the previous question.
  • What can my business do to become more water resilient before the next drought?
    • GreenCape’s Water Sector Desk can assist your business for free with starting its journey today to becoming water resilient
    • Consult the Western Cape Business Support FAQ on Water
    • Consult the City of Cape Town water saving tips, leaks and bursts guide, alternative water sources guidelines and Smart Living Handbook
    • Contact The National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) South Africa for a water footprint audit
  • Where can I find rainfall data?
    • DWS rainfall trends
    • UCT’s Climate Science Analysis Group (CSAG) rainfall monitoring
  • Where can I find help about drought?
    • GreenCape Drought Business Support
    • Consult the Western Cape Business Support FAQ

2. Water and soil quality

  • What is the state of our rivers and dams in the Western Cape and South Africa?
    • South African River Health Programme
    • Microbial monitoring data interactive map
    • Eutrophication monitoring data interactive map
  • Where can I do soil, water and plant diagnostics in the Western Cape?
    • Elsenburg Soil Water Plant Diagnostics (contact details can be found at the link)

3. Legislation and authorisations

  • What is a Water Use License?
    • A Water Use License is a type of water use authorisation. Others types of authorisations include General Authorisations and Existing Lawful Use. This guideline explains the different types of authorisations: Water use guideline document
  • Why do I have to register my water use?
    • As water is a national resource, the Department of Water and Sanitation needs to keep a record of who is using how much water, so that they can plan for future supply. This guideline explains the different types of registrations: Water use guideline document
  • What are the timeframes for a Water Use License Application (WULA)?
    • Refer to the Water Use License Application (WULA) website and application forms for specific timeframes
    • Agriculture is a priority sector for which processing times of WULAs have been reduced to 60 days
  • Do I need to apply for water use authorisation when I buy new land?
    • This guideline explains the different types of authorisations and when they are required: Water use guideline document
  • Do I have to install a water meter to monitor my borehole water usage?
    • Any water taken for irrigation purposes requires measurement according to the Regulations requiring that the taking of water for irrigation purposes be measured, recorded and reported (Notice 131 of Government Gazette 40621 of 17 February 2017).
  • What is a wetland and may I drain the water from it or cultivate it?
    • Wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally.
    • According to the Forest Act (no 122 of 1984), no one may drain and/or cultivate any wetland, or do so within ten metres of the flood area of the wetland, without a permit. It is also unlikely that a permit will be granted to drain a wetland which is permanently saturated during normal rainfall season.

This initiative is brought to you by Western Cape Department of Agriculture and GreenCape

Sign up for GreenCape membership
  • Contact us
  • Cookie policy
  • Join our newsletter