Waste Water management is a concern for any company using water as part of their manufacturing or production process. It is not only a cost driver in many businesses, but industrial and commercial waste water often contain high levels of contaminants, dangerous to the environment.
Besides the fact that Society frowns on water pollution by industry, legislation now also prescribes how waste water must be managed. Legislative conditions for the treatment of waste water before discharging, force companies to purify their waste water to a certain standard before discharging it.
Legislation and Waste Water Management
The Uniform Effluent Standard prescribed in the South African Water Act of 1956, did not take into account the assimilation capacity or the limitations of the receiving water. The result was an alarming decrease in quality of the national water resources in South Africa. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry published the White Paper on Water Policy in South Africa in 1997 and suggested a change in the way water quality was managed in South Africa. The National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) of 1998, subsequently reviewed the Uniform Effluent Standard and adopted the Receiving Water Quality Objectives (RWQO) approach. This approach takes into account the impacts on the receiving water as well as the impacts on other water users.
Impact of the Act and Waste Water Management on Your Business:
Companies using water as part of their processes must register with the Department of Water Affairs as a Water User
As a waste water discharger, you have to obtain a discharge license, issued in terms of the National Water Act of 1998. This means your effluent must be treated up to a certain standard, making the effluent suitable for discharging into receiving water or system. Waste Water discharge conditions are dependent on the relevant authority and determined based on the degree of impact from discharge.
Dischargers currently operating with a discharge permit in terms of the Water Act of 1956 (Act 54 of 1956), must replace these permits with a discharge license, based on the conditions as prescribed by their local authority in terms of the National Water Act of 1998 (Act 36 of 1998).
Non Compliance with the act in terms of water usage and discharging waste water into receiving waters is liable to a fine or possible imprisonment.
Most business owners and managers are not legal experts, and this short article’s aim is not to provide legal advice. It is rather to highlight the importance of taking note of the fact that water purification and waste water treatment, or the lack thereof by business, is no longer just something that’s frowned upon by society. There are real legal implications and non-compliance can harm your business severely.
