RQS (Resource Quality Services) - Department of Water Affairs - South Africa - Internet Home Page - formerly IWQS (Institute for Water Quality Studies), formerly HRI (Hydrological Research Institute


DWA Home RQS Home About RQS About RQS How to get to RQS Contact RQS History of the RQS Reports & Data Reports & Data Google Earth Monitoring Sites GIS Data Sub-Directorates Resource Quality Monitoring Analytical Services Resource Quality Information Scientific Support Organisational Administration Links Landline down: use 082 908 2895

Aquatic Resource Data

Request archival "raw" water quality data from the Resource Quality Services national monitoring programmes for specific rivers and dams by E-mail.
Browse water chemistry time-series graphs using Google Earth or text lists.
View summaries of eutrophication data.
View long-term microbial monitoring results.
Find out more about the the river and dam water quality database known as the Water Management System (WMS).

For other data requests, please try the following links:

Groundwater data management site.
Blue Drop My Water drinking water quality page.
Drinking water general information on the Water Quality Management System site.
Green Drop wastewater assessment page.
Wastewater general information on the Water Quality Management System site.
National Wetlands Inventory.
Working for Wetlands.
For details about regional water quality information see, for example :

Download flow data interactively from the Hydrological Services site.
Request flow data by E-mail from Hydrological Services.
Note: Archival datasets on CD are no longer available from CSIR.
Note: RQS laboratories only process samples related to the national monitoring programmes. If you require the services of a private laboratory, try entering "water analysis south africa" in your search engine.

Laws and Guidelines

National Water Act
Quality of domestic water supplies: Assessment Guidelines:
1. Assessment Guide (PDF 1Mb)
2. Sampling Guide (PDF 1Mb)
3. Analysis Guide (PDF 1Mb)
4. Treatment Guide (PDF 3Mb)
5. Management Guide (PDF 1Mb)
Management of Water-related Microbial Diseases (PDF 2.5Mb)
South African Water Quality Guidelines (1996)

Water Quality Investigations

The water quality of Bospoort Dam [PDF 1.5Mb] 2008-Oct
Report on an Integrated Water Quality Monitoring Programme Conducted in the Town of Delmas, November 2005 to June 2006 [PDF 8Mb] 2007-May
Suitability of Water within the Tswaing Crater Nature Reserve for Domestic Use [small PDF] [print PDF] 2005-May
Fish Kill in Roodeplaat Dam [PDF] 2004-Oct
National Water Resource Quality Status Report: Inorganic Chemical Water Quality of Surface Water Resources in SA ? The Big Picture. [PDF 8.5Mb] 2002
Water Resources Management Plan in the Diep River Catchment: A Situation Assessment, 2002 (Select chapters from the PDF Table of Contents)
Water Quality in the Elands River and Lindleyspoort Dam, 2001-Jul [small PDF] [print PDF]
Toxic Algal Incident In Grootdraai Dam, 2001-Jul [small PDF][print PDF]
Fish Kill in the Apies River [PDF] 2000-Oct
Pollution incident in Roodeplaat Dam 2000-May
Fish Kill in Hartebeespoort Dam 1999-Nov
Water Quality of Ebenezer Dam 1999-Aug
Phosphorus transport in the Berg River, Western Cape 1989 (TR 143, PDF, 19Mb)

Chemical

South African UNEP GEMS/Water: Monitoring Programme Design. (PDF 1.3Mb)
State of the Environment - South Africa: Freshwater Systems and Resources (With Mzuri Consultants--external link)
Modelling suspended sediments in the Olifants River catchment
Assessment of the implementation of the phosphate standard at the Baviaanspoort and the Zeekoegat water care works

Radioactivity

A Survey on the Radiological and Chemical Quality of the Water Resources in Selected Sites of the Northern Cape Province (PDF and JPEG files).
The Radioactivity Monitoring Programme in the Klip River Catchment (PDF, 2Mb).
Radioactivity Dose Calculation and Water Quality Evaluation Guideline for Domestic Water Use.
The Radioactivity Monitoring Programme in the Mooi River (Wonderfonteinspruit) catchment.

Biological

Aquatic Plants: Identification guide.
Aquatic invertebrates of South African Rivers: Illustrations and Field Guide.
Beware! Toxic Algae
National Eutrophication Monitoring Programme (NEMP)
National Aquatic Ecosystem Health Monitoring Programme (NAEHMP) including RHP
Field Guide to Fish Kills

Microbiological

National Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NMMP)

GIS and Spatial

Hydrological research archive

List of technical reports produced by the Department of Water Affairs until 1990.
New numbers for gauging stations, monitoring points and systems as well as for data and information 1989 (TR 141, PDF, 5.3Mb, Afrikaans)
Roodeplaat Dam: Pienaars River government water scheme 1989 (4-page colour pamphlet, PDF, 3Mb)
The effects of the Domoina floods and releases from the Pongolapoort Dam on the Pongolo floodplain 1985 (PDF, 2.8Mb)
Documentation of the 1984 Domoina floods 1985 (PDF, 27Mb)
The Bethlehem run-off augmentation project: past, present and future 1984 (TR 118, PDF, 4.5Mb)
Notes on some unsolved problems in river flow 1979 (TR 89, PDF, 2.8Mb)

International contacts

Presentation: Illinois student delegation (PPT)
Report back on 2001 U. S. - South Africa Binational Commission training visit to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Geological Survey: Building Capacity in Water Quality Modelling in South Africa (PDF)
Report back on 2000 Information Management Study Visit to the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Geological Survey (PDF)
Report back on 1997 IAHS conference in Rabat, Morocco [PDF 3.6Mb] [HTML]

Development of Assessment Tools

Development of a Framework for the Assessment of Wetland Ecological Integrity in South Africa Phase 1: Situation Analysis (Mandy Uys) [PDF 2Mb] [ PDF 3.5Mb with cross links, happy links, hyperlinks, hyperspace, bells & whistles]
Risk as a Tool in Water Resource Management (Sebastian Jooste's PhD).
Water Resources Management & Assessment Information System (WR MAIS)
Archive of resource directed measures documents (1999)
GISDECO poster: Putting water quality on the map with WaterMarque
Watermarque - A window on Water Quality
WaterMarque Manual - An Arc/Info based water quality mapping system
Draft report on Lake St. Lucia salinity model

Database queries

Level 1 Ecoregions.
Land cover segmented by secondary drainage region.
Experimental drainage region hierarchy
UPS status.

Last update of this page 2012-02-10 09:37

National programmes

Water Management System (WMS) water quality database

Chemical monitoring (NCMP)

Eutrophication monitoring (NEMP)

Toxic Algae

Microbiological monitoring (NMMP)

Aquatic Ecosystem Health Monitoring (NAEHMP)

River Health Programme (RHP)

Toxicity Monitoring (NTMP)

Strategic Framework for Monitoring and Assessment of Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystem Health

HRI-IWQS-RQS: 4 decades

This directorate officially opened as the Hydrological Research Institute on 20 October 1972. In 1994 it became the Institute for Water Quality Studies and in 2003, RQS. Read more here.