South Africa has an energy crisis. The country requires 53 Gigawatt of new capacity by 2030. The exploitation  of  unconventional  gas  is  a  potential  game-changer  to  meet  South  Africa’s  current energy deficit to fuel economic growth and development. Water management, both in terms of abstraction and disposal, has emerged as a critical issue in the development of unconventional gas reservoirs.

The groundwater governance arrangements for the development of groundwater resources were analysed. The analysis highlighted gaps and barriers to overcome before unconventional gas (shale gas and coal bed methane) development can take place at an industrial scale.

Unconventional gas mining is a new and unprecedented activity in South Africa that may pose various risks to groundwater resources.  According to legal experts, South Africa does not currently have the capacity to manage this activity effectively due to various lacunae that exist in the South African legislation. An analysis of the possible impacts of unconventional gas mining on groundwater and governance strategies that are used and planned for the future in other countries where unconventional gas mining is performed; will be discussed in this paper.