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Court. Private water may be surface or groundwater. Private water includes all water
which falls or originates in a natural way on a property, but which is not capable of
common irrigation use. The owner has the sole use of the water, but may not cede or sell
this right to any other person, or transfer the water across the boundaries of the property
on which it arises, without a permit.
10.17.2 Riparian rights
In terrils of Section 9(11 of the Water Act, each riparian owner is entitled to the reasonable
use of his share of the "normal flow" of a public stream, to which his property is riparian.
Normal flow in a public stream refers to the volume of public water actually and visibly
flowing in the stream which, under a system of direct irrigation from the stream whether
by furrow or another method, but without the aid of storage, can be beneficially used for
the irrigation of land riparian to the stream. In essence, irrigable land can be defined as
land suitable for irrigation which is riparian to a stream and is irrigable - with the static plus
friction head required not exceeding 80 m - or is situated within 2 km of the river course,
excepting where canalization can increase this command distance. Normal flow can only
be determined by a Water Court in terms of Sections 34 and 35 of the Water Act. Each
property bordering a river does .QQ1 necessarily have a water right, for example, where the
right has been excluded by a prior subdivision. Assuming no exclusion. owners of riparian
properties have a preferential right at all times to utilize water from a public stream (or a
tributary thereof), for domestic and stock watering purposes. Such a use takes
precedence over all other uses.
Normal flow (as per the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry), generally refers to the
volume of water which is available in a public stream for direct irrigation for 70% of the