Analysis of the Problems Domestic Water Users Face as They Work to Participate in Water Resource Management Efforts within the Kat River Valley Water User Association, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

In 1998 the South African government created a national water management policy called the National Water Act (South African National Water Act). The policy mandates the participation of all interested and affected parties within water management processes. The government branch in charge of oversight, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), acknowledges that there are significant challenges in gaining the full participation of certain groups. Domestic water users are named in this acknowledgement. In 2005, this study was conducted to examine the problems domestic water users face when trying to participate in water management. The researcher worked with institutions and participants who are a part of creating a water management plan in the Kat River Valley (KRV), a small sub-catchment of the Fish to Tsitsikamma catchment situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Through the research, the researcher found that the domestic water users in the catchment experience many problems that act as barriers to their full participation in the current water management process. The researcher examined these barriers using six data collection methods, using the Auerbach and Silverstein model of qualitative data analysis. Through the analysis process a narrative was created to describe how each barrier impacts domestic water user participation.

The barriers identified and described in this study have been and continue to be addressed in the catchment management plan’s participatory process. Results also allow process planners to reinforce the actions being taken that have had positive effects breaking down barriers. Not only do results have local implications, but they will be helpful if the water management process in the KRV succeeds and is used as a model in other catchment management planning areas.