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South Africa is viewed as a water-stressed country with an average annual rainfall of 500 mm and any climatic change could have adverse impacts on water resources of the country. The potential impacts of climate change on water resources and surface hydrology for Africa and Southern Africa have received considerable attention from hydrologists during the past decade. Very little research has been conducted on the future impact of climate change on groundwater resources in South Africa. Climate change can affect groundwater levels, recharge and groundwater contribution to baseflow. To assess these impacts a climate change vulnerability index was developed. This vulnerability-index method is known as the DART index. The parameters considered in the DART method are as follows: depth to water-level change, aquifer type (storativity), recharge and transmissivity. The DART index is used as a regional screening tool to identify areas that could experience possible changes in their groundwater resources as a result of climate change. The current DART index does not account for adaptation and migration occurrences.

A national dataset of inorganic chemical data of surface waters (rivers, lakes, and dams) in South Africa is presented and made freely available. The dataset comprises more than 500 000 complete water analyses from 1972 up to 2011, collected from more than 2 000 sample monitoring stations in South Africa. The dataset includes the major ion chemical composition and numerous calculated variables that can, amongst others, be used to determine accuracy of the analysis. The methods described here have potential for improving quality control measures in water chemistry laboratories by detecting anomalous samples. The processed data are available in Excel spreadsheets and can be downloaded from the website of the Centre for Water Science and Management based at the North-West University (www.waterscience.co.za/waterchemistry/data. html).

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