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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