We need your inputs for a Water Use License (WUL) Application to authorise the domestic and operational use of water from a borehole at the Sappi Lomati Sawmill, in Barberton.
The Lomati Sawmill, located in Barberton, was established in 1971. Water for domestic and operational use at the Sawmill was supplied by the local municipality, and water from the on-site borehole was only used for fire-fighting. However, a drought, and increased water demand, led to a request by the City of Mbombela to use the on-site borehole for domestic and manufacturing purposes in order to alleviate pressure on the town’s water supply needs.
The abstraction of water from this borehole is a water use as described under section 21(a) of the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA). This water use requires authorisation under one of four (4) types of authorisations provided for in the NWA: The change in the use of water from firefighting to domestic and operational use implies that it is no longer authorised under Schedule 1. The quantities of water abstracted from this borehole is excluded from the quantities specified in the General Authorisations issued in terms of section 39 of the NWA. This implies that it is necessary to apply for the authorisation of this abstraction under governance of a Water Use License (WUL) in terms of Chapter 4 of the NWA.
Lomati has appointed Carin Bosman of CBSS as independent water governance specialist to compile the Lomati WUL application for this borehole, which has to be supported by a Technical Report (Integrated Water and Waste Management Plan (IWWMP)).
We need your input:
To ensure that the aspects addressed in the Technical Report are based on objectives that reflect the needs and requirements of all stakeholders relating to the application for a WUL for the borehole at the Lomati Sawmill, we need your assistance: Please complete this I&AP Feedback Card and tell us about your role, your expectations on aspects that the WUL Application should address, and how addressing a particular aspect will help you, or in your opinion, lead to better protection of surface- and groundwater resources near the Lomati Sawmill. We will use these inputs to inform the formulation of the WUL Application and the Technical Document that supports it.
By completing the Feedback Card, you will be registered as an interested and/or affected person for the WUL Application process. Such registration will enable you to provide inputs into the objectives of the Technical Report.
Registration is open until 28 February 2025, to facilitate the arrangement of consultation sessions within 60 days from the date of this notice.
