At National Office the Directorate: National Hydrological Services, in terms of groundwater, is responsible for directing the assessment of groundwater resources, data acquisition and data management for capacity building and the development and maintenance of information systems in this regard. This is done to ensure the sustainable development of groundwater countrywide through the establishment of monitoring infrastructure and network management.

The Groundwater Offices are the main implementers of the National Water Act. In order to fulfil this mandate they execute the following functions: technical advice and support; regional monitoring; groundwater resource assessments and exploration including drilling for collecting sub-surface information; evaluation and recommendations for licensing; data management and information extension.  

Registration of Water Drilling Contractors of South Africa

An estimated 80 000 to 100 000 boreholes are being drilled annually. The data generated through the drilling of this number of boreholes can enhance the knowledge of the occurrences and utilisation of groundwater tremendously and thus it is imperative to get the data onto the Department databases. At the same time, it will enhance the Department's ability to execute its mandate to protect, manage and control the groundwater resources of the country.  

An international search has shown that it is common practice to register drilling contractors thus the Department has successfully created a platform on the National Groundwater Archive (NGA) since the inception of the NGA system and has recently enhanced this platform.

NGA enables the registration and updating of drilling companies and other stakeholder information and hereby encourage all stakeholders to register their drilling and hydrogeological related data to enable the Department in having a database of contractors.

The benefit of registering includes opportunities to receive training as part of the Southern African Development Community – Groundwater Management Institute (SADC GMI) capacity building on borehole drilling activities, continuous information sharing and distribution among others.

In addition, the Department has noticed that currently there are no legal and licensing requirements for borehole drilling companies in South Africa. The Department is at an early stage of planning the development of the framework for regulating drilling activities in South Africa. The Department’s intention is not to license borehole drilling companies but rather regulate borehole drilling activities.

Contact details

Project Leader: Mr. Zacharia Maswuma
E-mail: maswumaz@dws.gov.za

Co-Leader: Mr. Fhedzisani Ramusiya
E-mail: ramusiyaf@dws.gov.za