Water Regulation Practitioner

The purpose of this qualification is to provide the learner with the required knowledge, skills and practical experience to prepare a learner to operate as a Water Regulation Practitioner. A Water Regulation Practitioner protects water resources and related infrastructure through the development and effective implementation of appropriate regulatory requirements (authorise, enforce, compliance monitoring, regulation and protection). Qualifying learners will be able to: • Generate valid and updated water quality reports for a designated area. • Conduct inspections and audits to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. • Evaluate applications for the issuing of water use authorisations/permits. • Build and maintain productive relationships within the water quality management and utilisation community.

Southern Africa is a semi-arid region where water is of critical strategic importance to all development in all economic sectors and for the maintenance and conservation of the essential biodiversity needed for sustainable human existence. It is of utmost importance that the scarce water resources are optimally utilised in order to benefit all current and future users. For this purpose, a range of legislative requirements were put in place with the National Water Act as the centrepiece. Different stakeholders and economic entities have various needs and expectations related to the availability and use of water. Each of the users require different levels of water quality and each of the users in a designated area will impact on the availability and quality of the water for the area and the total water system. The national water utilisation strategies are aligned with global leading practices and take the sensitive and interdependent availability of water into consideration. The successful implementation of these strategies require that the users and stakeholders understand the intention of the strategies and effectively comply with the legislative requirements. There is also a critical need to continually monitor the water availability and quality in catchment areas to ensure that early corrective actions can be taken when changes are imminent, to avoid the ultimate destruction of the sensitive balance in water availability, supply and demand. The Water Regulation Practitioner is an occupation within the water management system. Practitioners in this occupation work, mainly for government, but increasingly for private sector and they are ultimately responsible to ensure the effective implementation of the national and regional strategies and for the collection of valid, updated and relevant data, to inform proactive decision making regarding the management of this critical resource. There is a consistent global shortage of skilled people to execute this work. In South Africa this has been identified as a scarce and critical skills area. Employers currently employ qualified practitioners in related fields, such as civil engineering or biological or environmental sciences and then provide these employees with on-the-job exposure to become competent Water Regulation Practitioners. This qualification will structure the required learning in terms of knowledge, skills and work exposure and will provide the platform to standardise and fast track the learning of these practitioners. The qualification will also provide appropriate articulation opportunities and cater for meaningful career progression.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): RPL for Access to the External Integrated Summative Assessment: Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by experience record. RPL for Access to the Qualification: Issuing a statement of result or certifying a work. Accredited providers and approved workplaces may recognise prior learning against the relevant access requirements. Entry Requirements: • National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 7 in Environmental Health or Water Care or Natural Science's. Or • NQF Level 6 with 3 years' work experience in the Environmental Health or Water Care or Natural Science.

• Generate valid and updated water quality reports for a designated area.
• Conduct inspections and audits to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Evaluate applications for the issuing of water use authorisations/permits..