Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA)

The Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) manages water resources in the Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area. The IUCMA was established under section 78(1) of the National Water Act 36 of 1998, and the agency operates across Mpumalanga and parts of Limpopo from its base in Mbombela.

Registered name

Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA)

Type

Catchment management agency (water resources)

Fields funded

Water-related science and engineering

Website

iucma.co.za

Phone

013 753 9000

Why catchment agencies exist

The IUCMA explains that catchment management agencies were created to decentralise decision-making about water, so that stakeholders in each catchment help manage their own water resources. The goal is better local water management that protects, uses, develops and conserves the nation’s water.

The Inkomati-Usuthu area matters for agriculture, forestry and mining, and its rivers cross into neighbouring countries, which makes careful allocation especially important.

Stakeholders have a say

The IUCMA invited all water users and stakeholders to take part in consultations on the 2027/28 annual water use charges. Consultations like these show the IUCMA’s public role: setting charges and allocating water fairly among farmers, towns, industries and the environment.

The IUCMA bursary

The IUCMA supports bursaries for students pursuing water-related science and engineering qualifications, according to a provider record checked in August 2026. Managing water across a large, remote area needs hydrologists, water quality scientists, engineers and data specialists.

Our IUCMA guide has not been refreshed with 2027 dates, so confirm the current call with the agency.

How to research the IUCMA

Read the IUCMA’s water use tariff consultation documents or annual reports to understand the problems the agency tackles, such as water shortages, pollution and licensing. Mention one of those issues in your motivation to show you understand the work.

Call the IUCMA in Mbombela to ask when the bursary opens, which qualifications qualify and whether bursars do vacation work with the agency’s field teams.

Water users in the catchment need licences from the IUCMA, and the agency monitors river flows and water quality to make sure users follow their licence conditions. That work needs people who can collect field data, analyse it and explain it to farmers, municipalities and industry.

Students in hydrology, environmental science, civil engineering, GIS and water chemistry all have skills the IUCMA uses, so each can make a case for the bursary if they link their field to the agency’s work.

See our environmental engineering bursaries page for water funders.