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HEALTH AND SANITATION
<< Continued from page 31 for the provision and management of existing domestic water supply and sewerage disposal systems from national to local government .
Moreover , all spheres of government have a duty , within their physical and financial capabilities , to work towards this object . The National Water Act ( Act 36 of 1998 ) deals with the management and protection of water resources in the country . The Department of Water and Sanitation ( DWS ) is in the process of reviewing and possibly amalgamating these pieces of legislation . In addition , the Municipal Systems Act ( Act 32 of 2000 ) sets out legislation that enables municipalities to uplift their communities by ensuring access to essential services .
Water forms part of the “ right to basic municipal services ” outlined in the Act . The Water Services Act is aligned to the National Water Act since its interpretation is subject to it . The South African water-related legislations do not provide an unambiguous framework for the adoption of RWH , making it illegal by strict application of the law . This is especially so when one assesses local water services bylaws .
A bylaw is a legislation passed and enacted by a municipal council . Unlike a law , it is passed by a nonsovereign body , which derives its authority from another governing body . A municipal government gets its power to pass laws through a law of the state , which specifies what things the city may regulate through bylaws .
Each municipality must compile a municipal code — a list of all its bylaws — that is available to members of the public upon request . A bylaw gives effect to respective policies and is therefore the regulatory instrument through which a municipality exercises its authority . In theory , a bylaw must never conflict national or provincial legislation ; where this happens , national and provincial legislation override it . Two avenues are used to ensure alignment between bylaws of municipalities and the Department of Water and Sanitation ( the role of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry , the custodian of the country ’ s water resources , is one of a regulator ):
• The minister responsible for local government may also pass what is called “ standard draft bylaws ” to guide municipalities . Municipalities may then make bylaws for any standard draft bylaw .
• The relevant national government departments provide what are called “ model bylaws ” to guide municipalities . While these are comprehensive , municipalities use sections that suit their situation .
In terms of design and construction , RWH infrastructure must be consistent with the National Building Regulations
( NBR ) SANS 10400 . The NBR fall under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act ( Act 103 of 1977 ), which governs all building and construction work in South Africa .
Various updates have since been made . These regulations were originally produced as a set of functional guidelines for anybody building any type of structure . SANS 10400 establishes the level of performance ( quantitative requirements ) and deemedto-satisfy provisions and the means by which the functional requirements established in the regulations may be satisfied .
Although not intended to be prescriptive in terms of what people should build — they stipulate important dos and don ’ ts — many are in fact mandatory . The NBR are divided into 23 chapters , but no chapter deals directly with water installations in buildings other than those pertaining to fire installations ( SANS 10400 W ).
The Water Services Act makes it illegal to install any plumbing component that does not comply with the relevant specifications listed in the latest versions of SANS 10106 , 10252 , and 10254 . However , it does not make it mandatory for all components to bear the SABS mark .
Compliance and enforcement processes of the NBR of South Africa are administered by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications ( NRCS ) though building control officers . Those are appointed by local authorities in terms of section 5 of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act ( Act 103 of 1977 ) to make recommendations regarding any plans , specifications , documents , and information submitted to such local authority in accordance with section 4 of the same Act .
While all building plans must be approved by the building control officer , there is no requirement to submit water drawings as that falls under SANS 10106 , 10252 , and 10254 . Both SANS 10252 and SANS 10254 fall under the Water Services Act and , therefore , the Department of Water and Sanitation .
Their compliance and enforcement are therefore not administered by building control officers but by water inspectors under water services bylaws . Unlike the building control officers , the qualification of the water inspector is not specified . The municipality may authorise any person in its employment to be a designated water inspector .
The water inspector has the right , without access restriction , to enter with or without a written authorisation
January 2018 Volume 23 I Number 11 www . plumbingafrica . co . za