The broad principles underlying the new approach to the pricing of water use are already reflected in the White Paper on a National Water Policy for South Africa, 1997 and in Chapter 5 of the National Water Act, 1998 (the Act). This document expands on those broad principles, in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Act, and provides a framework for implementing the new pricing strategy for water use.

This strategy refers to pricing the use of water from South Africa’s water resources, and not to the pricing of water services. Water services, including the pricing thereof, have been dealt with separately in the Water Services Act, 1997. In other words, the new approach deals with first tier water, i.e. the use of raw water from the water resource. It does not deal directly with second and third tier water, i.e. water supplied in bulk (often by water boards) and distributed to households (usually via a water services authority), except for water supplied by Government water schemes. The strategy deals with all first tier water as reflected in the use of ground and surface water resources and covers the setting of prices by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) as well as by water management institutions as defined in the Act.