Dennis, IngridBotha, Frederik Stefanus2015-10-202015-10-202005-07http://hdl.handle.net/11660/1403English: Groundwater forms an essential part of water supply in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. However, at planning level this message seems to be skewed and misinterpreted. Although a vast number of water supply schemes are developed using groundwater as a resource, these schemes are reported to fail and the resources are not considered sustainable. Therefore mistrust in groundwater has developed, planners effectively eliminate groundwater from integrated water resource planning and groundwater continues to be seen only as an ad hoc or emergency supply. The Groundwater Resource Information Project (GRIP) was introduced to compare available information with verified field information and it presents the information to planners and engineers in a format that is sensible and easy to incorporate, therefore presenting groundwater as an integrated sustainable and strategic resource. The work implemented during this project describes a hydrocensus - an information capturing and presentation protocol that can be introduced anywhere at any scale to give planners the opportunity to consider already developed groundwater infrastructure and incorporate it into the overarching planning. The methodology was developed to describe to the user how he/she should go about when conducting a hydrocensus to serve both the needs of water services and water resource managers. The development of groundwater in South Africa is discussed to provide a perspective on how groundwater was dealt with in the past and is looked upon now. Issues concerning groundwater resource mapping as attempted by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) and the Water Research Commission (WRC) are discussed and commented on. Also discussed is the availability and format of groundwater data when creating maps and how the data are captured in the different databases. All the maps however are derived from questionable and unverified field data. The legal perspective on groundwater in terms of the National Water Act (NWA), the Water Services Act (WSA) and the Environmental Conservation Act (ECA) is also briefly discussed. The different uses of water are mentioned where groundwater may have a significant contribution. Shortcomings in the Act are also discussed. The proposed methodology spells out the so-called Groundwater Resource Information Project (GRIP) and with marketing in the 21st century becoming more important in science, the slogan “Get a GRIP on groundwater” was adopted. The methodology highlights the importance of an integrated team with various responsibilities and deliverables, the importance of field and office procedures and the involvement of the community. It describes various verification stages where a quality control officer checks field data through ad hoc site visits and where historically disadvantage individuals previously not involved with a project of this nature, can learn from more experience individuals. Information gathered clearly illustrates that vast amounts of money are spent on groundwater development and that the majority of villages in Limpopo already have boreholes in close proximity. The raw data can be used for immediate planning, operation and management purposes. The core of GRIP is, however, dissemination of information and much time was spent to develop an interface where data is captured, validated and placed on a database accessible through the World Wide Web. The data can be downloaded through various methods available on the web page and exported as an Excel spreadsheet. The data can then be imported in a GIS tool and manipulated to develop a series of planning maps, develop site -specific water supply business plans or help planning engineers with day- to-day requests. Prior to GRIP, it was difficult and time consuming for planners in Limpopo to get access to reports compiled by specialists for municipalities or consulting engineers, but through the means developed in GRIP, planning engineers are enabled to stand up in meetings and with hard evidence in hand support future groundwater development and planning, making it truly part of integrated water resource management (IWRM). This study lasted from the beginning of 2002 up to the middle of 2004. Further implementation of GRIP continues in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape and there is a strong possibility that is might be implemented in Kwazulu/Natal and the Free State. The GRIP website, other technology and legislation may change with further implementation of GRIP.Afrikaans: Grondwater is ‘n essensiële deel van watervoorsiening in die Limpopo-provinsie van Suid-Afrika. Op beplanningsvlak kom hierdie boodskap egter nie altyd duidelik na vore nie. Hoewel groot getalle watervoorsieningskemas ontwikkel word met grondwater as ‘n hulpbron, faal die meerderheid hiervan en word die hulpbron nie as volhoubaar beskou nie. As gevolg hiervan het ‘n wantroue ontstaan in die gebruik van grondwater, beplanners het dit gr ootliks geëlimineer uit geïntegreerde waterhulpbronbeplanning en word die gebruik van grondwater steeds gesien as ‘n ad hoc of noodmaatrëel. Die Grondwaterhulpbron-inligtingsprojek (“Groundwater Resource Information Project – GRIP”) is ontwikkel met die doel om beskikbare grondwaterinligting te vergelyk met geverifiëerde velddata. Hierdie inligting kan in ‘n eenvoudige formaat beskikbaar gestel word aan beplanners en ingenieurs om te inkorporeer in hul strategiese beplanning. Dus kan grondwater voorgehou word as ‘n geïntegreerde, volhoubare en strategiese hulpbron. Die projek is aangepak volgens die formaat van ‘n hidrosensus – ‘n protokol om inligting vas te lê en aan te bied op enige skaal sodat die beplanner reeds ontwikkelde grondwaterinfrastruktuur ook in ag neem en inkorporeer in die oorkoepelende beplanning. Die werkswyse is so ontwikkel dat dit baie duidelik aan die gebruiker beskryf hoe om ‘n hidrosensus te doen. As agtergrond word die ontwikkeling van grondwater in Suid-Afrika beskryf om die hantering van grondwater in die verlede in perspektief te stel, asook hoe dit tans beskou word. Grondwaterbronkartering soos geïmplementeer deur die Department van Waterwese en Bosbou en die Waternavorsingskommissie word bespreek. Die beskikbaarheid en formaat van grondwaterdata vir die opstel van kaarte word bespreek, asook die vaslegging van data in verskillende databasisse. Al die kaarte is egter gebaseer op bevraagtekende en nie -geverifiëerde data. Die wetsaspekte rondom grondwater word bespreek in te rme van die Nasionale Waterwet, die Waterdienstewet en Omgewingsbewaringswet. Die verskillende watergebruike waar grondwater ‘n betekenisvolle bydrae kan lewer, word genoem. Tekortkominge in die Waterwet word aangespreek. Die suksesvolle bemarking van wetenskap word toenemend meer belangrik, en daarom word hierdie projek bemark met die treflyn “Get a GRIP on groundwater”, met verwysing na die volledige titel in Engels. Die metodologie beskryf en beklemtoon die belangrikheid van ‘n geïntegreerde span met verskeie verantwoordelikhede en produkte, die belangrikheid van veld - en kantoorprosedures en die samewerking van en met die gemeenskap. Dit beskryf verskillende fases waartydens data geverifiëeer word, o.a. deur ad hoc veldbesoeke van kwaliteitskontrole -beamptes. Histories-benadeelde individue wat nie voorheen by soortgelyke projekte betrokke was nie, kan in hierdie gevalle leer by meer ervare individue. Tydens die ondersoek is bevind dat groot bedrae geld spandeer word op grondwaterontwikkeling en da t die meerderheid dorpies in landelike Limpopo reeds ‘n boorgat in of naby die dorpie het. Die rou data kan dus gebruik word vir onmiddelike beplanning, operasionele en bestuursfunksies. Die kern van GRIP is egter disseminasie van inligting en daarom is baie tyd spandeer aan die ontwikkeling van ‘n gebruikersvriendelike interfase waar data vasgelê en bevestig word en beskikbaar is in ‘n databasis wat toeganklik is deur die Wêreldwye Web. Die data kan afgelaai word deur verskeie metodes beskikbaar op die webblad en uitgevoer word as ‘n Excel-sigblad. Hiervandaan kan data ingevoer word na‘n GIS - program en gemanipuleer word vir die ontwikkeling van ‘n reeks beplanningskaarte, terrein-spesifieke besigheidsplanne vir watervoorsienings of bloot om ingenieurs te help met dag-tot - dag versoeke vir inligting. Voor die ontwikkeling van GRIP was dit moeilik vir beplanners in Limpopo om toegang te kry tot spesialisverslae wat saamgestel is vir munisipaliteite of raadgewende ingenieurs. Met die beskikbaarstelling van ‘n stelsel soos GRIP word beplanners nou in staat gestel om met geldige data grondwaterbeplanning en ontwikkeling te ondersteun, sodat dit werklik deel kan word van geïntegreerde waterhulpbron-ontwikkeling. Die studie het plaasgevind vanaf die begin 2002 tot middel 2004, maar die GRIP gaan steeds voort in Limpopo en Oos -Kaap en daar is sterk sprake vir implementering in Kwazulu/Natal en die Vrystaat. Die GRIP web blad, ander tegnologie en selfs wetgewing kan verander soos die GRIP in verdere fases inbeweeg.enGroundwater -- ManagementWater-supply -- South Africa -- ManagementIntegrated water development -- South Africa -- LimpopoThesis (Ph.D. (Geohydrology))--University of the Free State, 2005ThesisUniversity of the Free State