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The National Water Resources Management Agency (NWRMA) is stepping up efforts to tackle unregulated water abstraction and strengthen compliance among businesses and institutions using Sierra Leone’s raw water resources.
Through its Legal, Regulations and Outreach Department (LROD), the Agency is conducting provincial compliance and enforcement visits to identify water users operating without proper registration or permits and to ensure existing users meet their regulatory obligations.
The exercise is being conducted under the National Water Resources Management Agency Act, 2017, and the Agency’s 2021 regulations, which mandate NWRMA to regulate, manage and protect the country’s raw water resources.
During the visits, NWRMA officials engaged mining companies, businesses, agricultural establishments, hotels, water-related enterprises and other institutions involved in the abstraction or use of raw water.
The Agency used the engagements to educate water users on registration and permitting requirements, examine compliance documents, verify information on water abstraction and identify gaps in its water-user database.
NWRMA’s increased regulatory drive comes amid growing pressure on Sierra Leone’s water resources from rising demand, pollution, uncontrolled abstraction and climate-related challenges.
The Agency says effective regulation is critical to protecting the country’s surface and groundwater resources, which provide essential support to communities and major economic sectors such as agriculture, mining, industry and hospitality.
Beyond issuing permits, NWRMA is responsible for monitoring water abstraction, promoting sustainable water use, enforcing regulatory requirements and working with stakeholders to protect the country’s water systems.
The Agency is therefore urging businesses, industries, mining companies, farmers, water bottling and purification companies, hotels and other entities abstracting raw water to regularise their operations and obtain the required registration and water-use permits.
NWRMA has warned that compliance monitoring will continue across the country, with appropriate enforcement action to be taken where necessary.
The Agency says its ongoing efforts are intended to ensure that Sierra Leone’s water resources are properly regulated and sustainably managed for both current and future generations.
