National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998)NoticesRaw Water Tariff Use Charges for the 2026/27 Financial YearGeneral Notice No. 3687 of 2025 |
General Notice No. 3687
9 December 2025
GG 53818
Department of Water and Sanitation
By virtue of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 57(3)(a) of the National Water Act, 1998 (Act. 36 of 1998), I, PEMMY C.P. MAJODINA, in my capacity as the Minister of Water and Sanitation, hereby give notice of the increase in the Raw Water Use Charges for the period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
| 1. | The following charges will be applicable from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. |
| 2. | Water resource management charges |
The charge serves as financial support for water resource management activities within each Water Management Area (WMA). These activities encompass the safeguarding, allocation, conservation, management, and regulation of the nation's water resources. The Water Resource Management Charge comprises of two main components i.e., abstraction and the waste related activities.
| (a) | Abstraction Related uses |
| (b) | Waste Related activities |
The charge for waste related activities will be implemented in all WMA from the 2026/27 financial year for the Domestic & Industry Sector.
| 3. | Water Resource Infrastructure Charges |
| (a) | Water Resource Infrastructure charges intend to recover costs associated with the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, refurbishment, and betterment of Government Water Schemes. The infrastructure charges are categorised into 3 components, namely: 1) Depreciation; 2) Return on Assets; 3) Operation and Maintenance (O & M). |
| (b) | The water resource infrastructure charges for all other systems/schemes and water user categories are approved as follows: |
| (c) | The full list of the approved water resource infrastructure charges is uploaded on the Department website. DWS: WARMS - Water Charges 2026/27 |
| 4. | Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority - Capital Unit Charges |
These charges are recovered to fund the repayment of loans for government schemes funded off-budget. The approved charges are sufficient to enable the Department and TCTA to service loans through cost recovery in the year under review.
| 5. | If the above charges remain wholly or partly unpaid after a due date, interest shall be charged in terms of section 59(3)(a) of the National Water Act (Act No.36 of 1998) on the outstanding amount at a rate determined from time to time by the Minister with concurrence of the Minister of Finance by notice in the gazette. |
| 6. | Section 59(3)(b) stipulates that if a water use charge is not paid, the supply of water to the water user from a waterwork or the authorisation to use water may be restricted or suspended until the charges, together with interest, have been paid. |
| 7. | The effective date of this Notice is 1 April 2026. |
Miss Pemmy C.P. Majodina, MP
Minister of Water and Sanitation
Date: 28/11/2025