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Institute for Water Quality Studies |
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Developed under the auspices of the Resource Protection And Policy Implementation Task Team (PAPITT)
Department of Water and Sanitation
(Version 4, July 1998)
It should be noted that the PAPITT implementation plan and its associated documentation are in a state of development. As such they are not comprehensive. In particular, the resource needs for many projects have not yet been determined.
It should also be noted that some of the projects or tasks mentioned in this plan are not the responsibility of PAPITT but are related or interdependant and are therefore needed be mentioned.
Updates to these documents will be made quarterly to reflect the progress made.
For more information or queries, please contact:
Toni Belcher or Adhishri Singh
Institute for Water Quality Studies
Tel: 012-8080374
Fax:012-8080338
RESOURCE PROTECTION AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
1. Introduction
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Implementation time frame 1
1.3 Approach to implementation 2
1.4 Scope of work 3
1.5 Objectives and key requirements 3
2. Major Project Descriptions 5
2.1 Regulations for Reserve Protection 6
2.2 Reserve Determination 7
2.3 Water Resources Classification System 8
2.4 Resource Quality Objectives 9
2.5 Risk-based Approaches in Water Resources Management 10
2.6 Water Use Authorisation 11
2.7 Waste Discharge Standards 12
2.8 Best Management Practices 12
2.9 Economic Instruments 13
2.10 Monitoring Systems 14
2.11 Information Systems 15
3. Gantt Chart 17
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The Protection and Assessment Policy Task Team (PAPITT) has been given the responsibility to ensure that all requirements arising from the National Water Bill will be implemented within time frames which match the priorities and needs for integrated water resources management. PAPITT has taken a long-term view of this responsibility and has set the following:
Resource Protection Goal By 2010, the Department of Water and Sanitation and its stakeholders will have judged that South Africa's water resources protection and assessment policy, which forms part of South Africa's national water resources policy, has been effectively implemented in strategically important catchments. |
1.2 Implementation Time Frame
The new National Water Bill is specifically structured so that it can be implemented in a rational and phased manner over a period of time. There are no dates per se; a number of activities are required to be implemented "as soon as is reasonably practicable" while others are conditional upon previous requirements being in place. The PAPITT plan is therefore designed to cover both the scope and timing of development. This is summarized in the table below:
Period | Scope | Range of implementation |
On "Day 1" | Preliminary tools | Pilot testing |
Up to ±2 years after "Day 1" | All tools | In some priority catchments* |
Up to ±12 years after "Day 1" | All tools | In all priority catchments |
* as guided by the National Water Resource Strategy
1.3 Approach To Implementation
PAPITT has adopted an implementation approach that incorporates a number of key aspects:
The implementation strategy will be based on an assessment of all key factors affecting resource protection and assessment (see the diagram that shows the related objectives and key requirements for achieving the goal).
The implementation plan, based on the strategy, will:
cover the scope, linked activities, resource needs, and detailed scheduling of the interrelated and interdependent tasks, and their associated budgets;
define measurable goals and deliverables needed to audit and assess progress;
guide the prioritization and development of the procedures, tools, capacity building, and any other aspects needed for the complete application of all parts of the new Bill and the subsequent implementation thereof, beginning with its first day of effect and continuing through into the long-term.
The development of the plan will be an iterative and incremental process.
Development of the plan will be through a series of workshops which will utilise a well-structured methodology. The methodology chosen uses a goal-focused approach to systematically structure constraints and objectives within a framework for defining and prioritising key actions and tasks.
Participation, development and execution of the plan will involve the project team, specialist consultants, other policy implementation team representatives, and various stakeholders.
Coordination with other policy implementation initiatives and developments will be an ongoing effort.
Consultation between the resources protection and assessment group and its stakeholders and other interested and affected parties, both within and outside of the Department, will ensure that all parties are kept informed of the process envisaged and the progress achieved, and that there is commitment to, and agreement on, the specific objectives and methodologies that are developed.
1.4 Scope Of Work
The PAPITT work covers the following areas:
Development of resource-directed measures including resource classification, setting of "the reserve", resource quality objectives, and risk assessment;
Development of source-directed controls, including licensing procedures, discharge standards, management practices, rehabilitation requirements, integrated waste management, economic incentives (including effluent charges, incentives and penalties) and impact assessments;
Monitoring policy, assessment and planning (including infrastructure needs, data collection and management, and information dissemination), and development and integration of new and existing data/information systems (as a priority, the water use authorisation information system) to support water resources management;
Assessment of needs for capacity-building, strategy for human resources development (both inside and outside DWA&F); development of training materials and courses;
Information transfer and communication strategy related to the protection and assessment aspects of the policy, directed both internally and externally.
1.5 Objectives And Key Requirements
The diagram on the following page illustrates the overall goal for resource protection and assessment and the key requirements, as related objectives, for achieving it.
Objectives diagram
2.MAJOR PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS
This section provides an overview of the major projects currently being run under PAPITT's responsibility. It should be read in conjunction with the "PAPITT Gantt Chart" which shows the scheduling of the projects described below, and indicates the some of the key tasks that make up each project - if more information on a project is required, it should be requested from the project leader concerned.
The major projects are:
Regulations for Resource Protection
Reserve Determination
Water Resources Classification System
Resource Quality Objectives
Risk-based Approaches in Water Resources Management
Water Use Authorisation
Waste Discharge Standards
Best Management Practices
Economic Instruments
Monitoring Systems
Resource Quality Information Systems
Management Strategies
The first key milestone for most of the above projects is the expected date of promulgation of the new Water Bill (1 April 1998) and this is reflected on the "PAPITT Gantt Chart".
"Generic" activities, which form a part of most of the specific projects listed above are:
Project management
Communication
Capacity building
Stakeholder participation
2.1 Regulations for Resource Protection
(Task no's 5-8 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Ms Toni Belcher |
DWA&F Management Team | Dr Henk van Vliet, Mr Leo van der Berg, Mr Hadley Kavin, representative(s) from Regional Offices |
Objective | The objective of this project is to identify, prioritise, and provide the technical content for those regulations which will need to be issued for resource protection and assessment under the National Water Bill. A prerequisite is a clear understanding of the regulatory requirements in the Bill in terms of water use, especially with regards to general authorisations and controlled activities. |
Approach | The project entails an in depth analysis of the Bill to identify those regulations,
including the general authorisations and controlled activities, which will be required for
the resource protection and assessment component under the National Water Bill. The
identified regulations will then need to be prioritised and a strategic plan drawn up for
their development. The technical content of the regulations will be drafted for
preparation and promulgation by Legal Services. Such a process will need to allow for a
high degree of participation and consultation to ensure that the practical knowledge and
experience of the relevant line function managers is included. In addition to those regulations and authorisations needed when the new Water Bill is promulgated, a number of other regulations are also under development, including: Regulations for the prevention of water pollution from mining activities Regulations for the prevention of water pollution from industries |
Status | Being Initiated |
2.2 Water Resources Classification System
(Task no's 10-47 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Ms Toni Belcher |
DWA&F Management Team | Dr Heather MacKay, Mr Kelvin Legge, Ms Liesl Hill (Riverine Ecosystem), Ms Adhishri Singh (Basic Human Needs), Mr Derek Weston (Wetland Ecosystem), Mrs Barbara Weston (Estuary Ecosystem) |
Objective | To develop a classification system for water resources that will provide: a nationally consistent basis for setting resource quality objectives; a clearly understood, accepted and consistent basis for assessing proposed impacts on water resources and deciding whether these impacts are acceptable or unacceptable; a stable planning, regulatory and management framework, which will remain in place for an agreed time period before review, and within which decision making and development can take place. |
Approach | A prototype classification system will be developed for use with the protocol for preliminary determinations of the reserve. The development and refinement of the full classification system, and guidelines for its application, will be carried out through further prototyping and pilot testing in selected catchments. |
Status | Phase I Complete Phase II Started |
2.3 Reserve Determination
(Task no's 49-118 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Dr Heather MacKay |
DWA&F Management Team | Dr Henk van Vliet, Mr Kelvin Legge |
Objective | To develop protocols for the determination of the Reserve (basic human needs and ecological) and to determine the Reserve in selected catchments, according to implementation priorities. |
Approach | Initial actions are focused on providing a protocol to be able to carry out preliminary determinations of the Reserve as soon as the National Water Bill comes into effect. Refinement and further development will be carried out in parallel with several pilot-scale tests of the protocol. Protocols for the full determination of the reserve, in the context of the classification system, will be developed thereafter (post 1998). |
Status | Phase I Complete Phase II Started |
2.4 Resource Quality Objectives
(Task no's 124-128 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Dr Heather MacKay |
DWA&F Management Team | Dr Henk van Vliet, Mr Pieter Viljoen |
Objective | To develop procedures for setting Resource Quality Objectives (RQO) for water resources, on a site-specific basis and within the context of the resource classification system. |
Approach | The procedures for setting RQO will be closely linked to the rules for each class in the resource classification system. Hence development of procedures for setting RQO will be undertaken in parallel with development of the classification system. An initial development phase will be followed by refinement and further development through pilot testing in selected catchments. |
Status | Started |
2.5 Risk-based Approaches in Water Resources Management
(Task no 130 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Mr Sebastian Jooste |
DWA&F Management Team | Staff from the Institute for Water Quality Studies |
Objective | To develop guidelines for the use of ecological risk-based approaches in water resources management. |
Approach | Ecological risk assessment and its use in aspects of water resources management is a new field in South Africa. An initial phase will cover investigation of the applicability and feasibility using risk-based approaches in various aspects of water resources management. This will be followed by a phase of development of guidelines for use of these concepts on a site-specific or case-specific basis. |
Status | Started |
2.6 Water Use Authorisation
(Task no's 135-160 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Ms Alison Howman |
DWA&F Management Team | Dr H. Van Vliet, Mr P. Pretorius, Mr J.L.J. van Der Westhuizen, Mr J.B. Bongers, Mr F. De Kock, Mr J. Perkins, Mrs A. Cochlovious Gouws, Mr E. Braune, Mr H. Kavin, Mr P. Botha |
Objective | To create a Water Use Authorisation Management System (WARMS) which will allow the Department to efficiently and effectively manage all water use licenses and authorisations, and ensure a comprehensive and integrated licensing service to the public. |
Approach | Initial actions will focus on ensuring that effective, efficient and co-ordinated
administrative processes are in operation in the Department by the time of promulgation of
the new Water Bill. This will include the design and development of co-ordinated business
processes and procedures, as well as all the documentation required. The development of a computerised system to support the administration of water use authorisations will be undertaken and deployed (including training of Departmental Staff) as soon as practically possible. |
Status | Started |
2.7 Waste Discharge Standards
(Task no's 162-164 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Mr Pieter van der Merwe |
DWA&F Management Team | Mr Paul Herbst, Dr Heather MacKay, |
Objective | |
Approach | |
Status | Started |
2.8 Best Management Practices
(Task no's 166-171 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Mr Leo van der Berg |
DWA&F Management Team | |
Objective | |
Approach | Development of Best Management Practice guidelines for the following sectors: Water quality management in the mining industry |
Status | Started |
2.9 Economic Instruments
(Task no's 173-180 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Mr Claus Triebel |
DWA&F Management Team | Mr Piet Pretorius, Mr Leo van der Berg, Dr Henk van Vliet |
Objective | |
Approach | |
Status | Started |
2.10 Monitoring Systems
(Task no's 184-207 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Ms Alison Howman |
DWA&F Management Team | Directorates: Hydrology, Geohydrology, Water Quality Management, Geomatics and Regional Offices. |
Objective | To maintain and develop an approach to monitoring that will help ensure sustainable use of water resources, through accurate quantification and assessment of our water resources, and help manage and protect human and aquatic ecosystem health. |
Approach | Ongoing coordination and operational management of national, regional and catchment
specific water resource quality monitoring programmes. Initiation of national co-ordination and collaboration of water resource quality monitoring programmes with responsible authorities. Development of a national monitoring policy to address funding, inter-departmental liaison, priorities and the requirements of collection, maintenance and dissemination of data and information. Evaluate existing national and regional monitoring programmes. Design and implement priority monitoring programmes in a phased manner. |
Status | Started |
2.11 Information Systems
(Task no's 209-240 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leader | Dr Henk van Vliet |
DWA&F Management Team | Mr A Conley, Mrs A Gouws, Mr J van der Westhuizen |
Objective | To identify and develop computerised systems, processes and infrastructure that will support the administrative, analytical, reporting and auditing aspects of the water resource quality management components of the Department. |
Approach | Development of information systems that will accommodate a central as well as
distributed organisation, to enable the Department and stakeholders to manage and
effectively process and analyse an integrated source of water and environmental quality
data. Development of an information policy and plan to prioritise, co-ordinate and support the acquisition and dissemination of information to water resources managers, interested and affected parties, and the public. |
Status | Started |
2.12 Management Strategies
(Task no's 242-251 in Gantt Chart)
Project Leaders | Directorate Heads |
DWA&F Management Team | Directorates: WQM (Water Quality Management); GH (GeoHydrology) |
Objective | To develop appropriate strategies that will support the deployment of the policies and goals described in the new Water Bill, using all the new tools and processes that are currently being created. |
Approach | A number of initiatives have been started in different line functions of the
Department that are associated with resource protection and assessment, including (but not
limited to): Water Quality Water Quality Management Policy Framework WQM Marine Water Quality Policy/Strategy Manual WQM Water Quality Management Audit System WQM Agricultural Water Pollution Control Strategy WQM Guidelines for Ground Water Impact Assessment WQM Development of a Policy for Water Pollution Control of Underground Petroleum Reservoir Tanks WQM Guidelines for Ground Water Impact Assessment WQM Groundwater Groundwater allocation policies GH Strategy for registration of boreholes GH Other initiatives Strategy for licencing streamflow reduction activities A National Water Resource Strategy WCU |
Status | Started |