Transboundary Aquifer Management Obligations Critical Review of South Africa’s National Groundwater Monitoring network – Implications to Transboundary Aquifer Management Obligations *K F Netili , K Majola, S Mndaweni , K Pietersen , J Odiyo

Status quo groundwater monitoring in South Africa DWS has mandate to protect, use, develop, conserve, monitor, manage and control South Africa’s water resources in an integrated manner (NWA 1998;NWRS2) South Africa currently has 10 national water resources monitoring programmes managed by DWS and other institutions The national groundwater network (NGMP) provides baseline, status (up to near-real-time) and historical trend reporting of water resources in support of four key strategic monitoring objectives The NGMP covers almost 95% area of the country Monitoring Programme Purpose Measurement Manager Groundwater Quality Trend and spatial variation 412 (328) monitoring stations DWS Groundwater Quantity (Levels) Trend and status of aquifer 2233 (2076) monitoring stations Rainwater Quality (and depth) Rainfall depths, intensities and hydrogeochemistry characteristics at specific sites 100 stations

Distribution of Active GW Monitoring Network Active GW Level Stations in TBAs (116) Active GQ Level Stations in TBAs (46)

Redesign of the national groundwater monitoring network The current groundwater monitoring network coverage is skewed and inconsistent DWS embarked on reconfiguration of the network from 2014- 2017 First step - The spatial design of an “ideal” theoretical network (as if nothing existed) The recent review used spatial density criteria which allowed for the incorporation of best-practices; hydrogeological information and expert knowledge. The methodology comprised the following steps: Define monitoring objectives; Develop optimal positioning criteria; Decide on monitoring parameters and frequency.

Theoretical Monitoring Network Configuration Groundwater monitoring network design methodologies Statistical methods Detailed hydrogeological information Combination of both methods Hydrogeological approach Spatial density criteria based approach Incorporation of best-practices (International and national) Hydrogeological information Expert knowledge

SA TBAs Extent 9 TBAs Lithology: Coastal Sedimentary, Rhyolite_Breccia, Karoo and Dolomite Few active monitoring stations Few studied, less data available

South Africa’s TBAs

Rationale for extending monitoring network to TBA United Nations General Assembly unanimously, agreed to Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the 2030 Agenda) in September 2015 SDG Target 6.5: By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate. Indicator 6.5.2: Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation Revised SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses on 7 August 2000 Agreement for the Establishment of the River Basin Organisations (i.e. ORASECOM, LIMCOM,ETC). The spatial distribution of monitoring networks is not adequate in some cases such that the necessary portions of the TBA to be reported on are either not or partially covered. Currently, there are no cooperation agreements pertaining specifically to transboundary aquifers in the SADC region. To abide by groundwater data sharing and management protocols in reporting to the SDG requirements.

Principles for proposed network Evaluation of the status quo of groundwater provision and shortcomings in South Africa’s National Water Policy Theoretical monitoring network design explicitly considers the need for monitoring to support the management of transboundary obligations Recommendations made for the specialised monitoring programmes are integrated with the national implementation plan such that mandates do not overlap and roles and responsibilities are clear

Design criteria Existing groundwater monitoring activities evaluated against an independent theoretical network based on international accepted densities of groundwater monitoring networks. Data inventory – NGA,HYDSTRA,WMS Data integrity assessment (indicators: Equipment, Data records, Analysis & Audit, Frequency, Data record length, etc) Site positions were determined using the integrated site positioning criteria and available national spatial data as outlined below: The localities for transboundary aquifers. Spatial data sets (Vegter regions, GRAII,Landcover,etc)

Distribution of Active GW Monitoring Network in TBAs

Features of the current groundwater monitoring network in selected TBAs – Khakhea/Bray Dolomite Aquifers Groundwater Monitoring Quality (1) Levels (22) Challenges Actual abstraction volumes (metering) Integrated/Tra nsboundary water level monitoring (both Botswana & RSA) Rainfall monitoring (limited) Distribution of GW Level Monitoring Stations

Features of the current groundwater monitoring network in selected TBAs – Stampriet Aquifer System Distribution of GW Level Monitoring Stations Distribution of GW Quality Monitoring Stations Groundwater Monitoring Quality (2) Levels (1) Challenges Actual abstraction volumes (metering needed) Integrated/Transb oundary water level monitoring (Botswana, Namibia & RSA) Rainfall monitoring (very limited) Still little or no time series data on relevant variables Data limited and unequally spread over the area In order to support informed decision-making for managing STAS groundwater resource, first priority is establishing and operating aquifer-wide monitoring networks (UNESCO-IHP, 2016) There are very few groundwater quality data points in the southern parts, and no information at all in case of the Nossob (deep Karoo) aquifer

Theoretical Baseline Sites

Conclusion TBA spatial design workshop Water quantity and quality – network description constituents and frequencies Site visits, ground explorations, surveys and various other investigations to confirm the locations of all proposed monitoring sites Capital and O&M costs must be determined Highly productive sources (high rainfall areas, high-yielding aquifer systems, high recharge systems, etc.) should be prioritised Protocols for the identification of new sites must be developed to ensure proper integration into the existing monitoring network

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