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subterranean water control areas. There are 13 control areas in South Africa covering
some 5 000 km 2 . No subterranean water control areas are found in Natal/KwaZulu.
The use of water abstracted from a mine (for dewatering purposesl is subject to permit
restrictions in terms of Section 12 of the Water Act. Compensation by the mine owner
to those adversely affected by the abstraction can be made a permit condition in terms of
Section 12B of the Act. The prevention of pollution of any water (including groundwaterl
through farming operations is controlled in terms of Section 23A of the Act. The Minister
(by virtue of Section 12C of the Actl, may require that data from any borehole drilled for
private purposes in a gazetted area, be supplied to the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry. Groundwater surveys and drilling performed on behalf ofthe Department can be
undertaken on private property in terms of Section 166 of the Act - provided that
reasonable notice is given to the owner or occupier of the land.
11.4 Some primary sources of groundwater information for NatallKwaZulu
11 .4.1 Detailed surveys
Very few large (regionall groundwater studies have been undertaken in NatallKwaZulu.
Two major regional (as opposed to sub-regional) surveys were those reported by Van Wyk
(1963) and Anonymous (1971)*. Several important sub-regional studies have been
undertaken for example, by the CSIR and the University of Zululand in the Richards Bay­
St Lucia area, as well as further north (see the bibliographic databasel.
No detailed province-wide analysis of groundwater in Natal/KwaZulu has yet been
undertaken. An overview has however, been provided by Maud (see later in the chapter).
A major groundwater study is currently underway in NatallKwaZulu involving the
Directorate of Geohydrology of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Private Bag
*
See Van Wyk, W.L, 1963. Ground-water studies in northem Natal, Zululand and surrounding areas,
Memoir No. 52. Geological Survey, Department of Mines, Pretoria, 135 p. and map, as well as
Anonymous. 1971. Report on a survey of the natural resources of Natal South Coast {European
owned land!. supplement to the maps: undertaken for the Town and Regional Planning Commission.
Pietermaritzburg, 1971, Report No. TS 57/69, R.F. Loxton Hunting and Associates, Johannesburg,
110 p. + app. and 10 maps. The firm also undertook a survey of Maputaland in 1969/1970invoMng
inter alia groundwater resources. {See O! the relevant maps discussed in the chapter on maps.
elsewhere in this publication and Oil the bibliographic database!. See also, James, A.G. and Fuller,
H.LM., 1987. Register of southern African hydrological data sources, South African Water
Information Centre. CSIR, Pretoria. 287 p.