Underpinning Umvoto’s monitor-model-manage approach to both surface water and groundwater resources is a solid foundation of field knowledge and hands-on experience, with an emphasis on ground truthing exploration hypotheses and aquifer specific knowledge to inform wellfield management. Umvoto has led our competitors in implementing an adaptive management approach to groundwater resource evaluation and development in South Africa by developing systems for both evaluating surface water-groundwater interaction and integrating groundwater into existing surface water planning tools.
Umvoto has experience in a range of hydrological investigations, including hydrological impact assessments and stormwater management planning. This allows Umvoto to assess the potential impacts of watercourse flows on developments, the impact of developments on watercourses, and to advise on the associated mitigation and management measures.
The Umvoto team’s experience with the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998) of South Africa and associated legislation supports strategic approaches in water resource development studies, vital to license applications, associated aquifer sustainability, as well as public liaison, securing public buy-in and preparing risk-based environmental impact assessments.
To meet the growing concern around water resource and soil contamination Umvoto offers the full suite of assessments building on our expertise in geological and hydrogeological processes. Umvoto’s strength is our proven experience in soil, surface water and groundwater assessments; the interactions between these; and the associated impacts and required mitigation and management measures.
Umvoto has experience in most priority contaminants, with capability in due diligence, desktop and intrusive assessments (including soil sampling, monitoring well drilling and sampling), remediation, contaminant fate and transport modelling and environmental monitoring. This experience helps our various industrial clients identify, prevent, mitigate and remediate environmental impacts to limit their environmental, reputational, and financial risks.
The Umvoto team has long experience in the application and successful awarding of Water Use Licences (WUL) in terms of Section 21 of the National Water Act (No. 36 of 1998) having worked with a variety of clients in local governments, agricultural and manufacturing industries on applications for various WULs. WUL applications have varied from the abstraction of ground and surface water for domestic use and agricultural use, to the discharge of treated effluent, alteration of stream and riverbeds and banks, recharging of groundwater, dewatering of pits and mines, and all other Section 21 uses. This experience and knowledge of the various relevant legislation is applied in development of monitoring and resource protection protocols.
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Determining Dependency and Vulnerability of Groundwater in Coastal Cities (Cape Town and Dar es Salaam)
In March 2025, Umvoto was commissioned by the Southern African Development Community Groundwater Management Institute (SADC-GMI) to undertake a project on determining the dependency and vulnerability of groundwater in coastal cities, using Cape Town and Dar es Salaam as case studies. Coastal cities are becoming increasingly reliant on groundwater due to rapid urbanisation, population growth,…
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Sustainability in action: How Umvoto walks its talk
At Umvoto, sustainability is not just a concept embedded in project design; it is a lived practice that is woven into the organisation’s daily operations. The company’s office in Muizenberg, Cape Town, reflects its commitment to environmental responsibility through deliberate and practical measures that reduce resource use, promote efficiency, and inspire the same values in…
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Mandela Day 2025: “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity”
Mandela Day This Mandela Day, Umvoto and The Umvoto Foundation (TUF), in collaboration with the Groundwater Division, collaborated with HOKISA children’s home to educate children one the water cycle. The theme for 2025 is “it’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity”, which Umvoto and TUF took the opportunity to address by making…
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World Environment Day: Ending plastic pollution
World Environment Day, celebrated on 5th June each year, is a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to protect our planet. The 2025 theme, “ending plastic pollution globally”, calls for urgent action against the pervasive environmental threat posed by plastic waste. Beyond addressing plastic pollution, World Environment Day also promotes broader environmental values such as…
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Bitten by the Bug: SASS5 Training
In April, Junior Environmentalist Kim Parker, had the incredible opportunity to attend the South African Scoring System (SASS5) Training Course hosted by the Freshwater Research Centre in Kommetjie, Cape Town. This four-day course provided hands-on experience conducting SASS5 biomonitoring – a rapid aquatic biomonitoring method used to assess the health of rivers and streams in…
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South Africa’s first International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge
Umvoto recently attended the 12th International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (ISMAR 12), held in Stellenbosch – the first time the event has been hosted in Africa. The conference took place with the support and endorsement of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and UNESCO. ISMAR 12 brought…
