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The Valuation of irrigation on a farm.

Writer: Kobus van der Walt
Kobus van der Walt
2 days ago
2 min read

Irrigation must be lawful; therefore, it must:


  • Be registered and have a Water Registration Certificate / Water License issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

  • Only the authorised volume of water may be used.

  • A Water License is valid for 40 years.

  • If the water is not used, the allocation will lapse.

 

The National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) sets out the regulations.


  • The purpose of the act is to protect, use, develop, conserve, control, and manage water resources for the benefit of all in South Africa.

  • Using water for irrigation purposes is a privilege; it is not a right.

 

Water Use Entitlement vs Water Right

The Water Act of 1998 stipulates that water no longer adheres to the property, but a person/legal entity becomes the water user.


Thus, water rights will eventually disappear from Title Deeds.

 

Constitutional Court Ruling

The Constitutional Court ruled that a person/legal entity may sell its water rights, but the transfer to another person/entity must be authorised by the Department of Water and Sanitation.

 

There are three different categories of water use:


  1. Taking water from a source (borehole/dam)

  2. Storing water (dam)

  3. Stream flow reduction activity (afforestation where plantations are established)

 

Who in agriculture is required to register?


  1. All boreholes with a capacity > 10,000 l/hour.

  2. Any person who stores water in a dam with a capacity of more than 10,000 cubic meters.

  3. Any person participating in stream flow reduction activities.

 

There are four types of irrigation land:


  1. Irrigation land

    Land that is debushed, cultivated, equipped with mainlines and for which there is enough lawful irrigation water available to be irrigated annually.

  2. Equipped land

    Land that is debushed, cultivated, equipped with mainlines and for which there is NOT enough lawful irrigation water available to be irrigated annually.

  3. Potentially irrigable land

    Land that is debushed, cultivated, NOT equipped with mainlines and for which there is enough lawful irrigation water available to be irrigated annually.

  4. Potentially irrigable veld

    Land that is currently veld, not cultivated, not equipped with mainlines and for which there is enough lawful irrigation water available to be irrigated annually.

 

The Valuation Report must explain what is included and what is not.

  • Is the irrigation system (centre pivot/drip irrigation lines, etc) included in the R / ha value, or not?

  • Is the Water Use Entitlement included in the R / ha value, or not?

 
 
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