Water Sewage & Effluent quoted Adam Gunn in its September 2008 issue in the article "A collective effort".
The Legal And Environmental Issues
Adam Gunn, a director at Routledge Modise Eversheds, says this is a "legally and environmentally" interesting issue. The only environmental argument that could be raised is that the water is being transferred from one catchment to another but the extent to which the flow of water in South Africa has been changed seems to mitigate this argument, he adds. "Legally, the issue is also interesting because, since the introduction of the National Water Act in 1998, all water in South Africa has been under the control of the state." However, this piece of legislation has not improved the quality of the water in South Africa's aquifers hence private-sector initiatives seem to hold considerable potential and solutions to complicated environmental-legacy issues. Gunn believes there is also a possibility, should demand arise, some of this water could be treated to potable standard and supplied to communities in the area.
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