In the preamble of the Department of Health of South Africa (2006) regulations that can be viewed at www.doh.gov.za/department/dir_foodcontr.html are the following definitions for “Waters defined by Origin”

"water defined by origin" means bottled water originating from an underground or surface water system, which flows naturally from its source.

"spring water" means bottled water sourced from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth, and which is collected from the spring or a borehole tapping the underground formation, and which may be classified as a 'natural water' or as ‘water defined by origin’

Dept of Health of South Africa. 2006. Regulations relating to all bottled waters. Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act no. 54 of 1972) No. R. 718. 28 July 2006.

Waters defined by origin applies to iceberg water, snow water, stream water, rain water, river water, mist water, spring water, glacier water and sea water, or any other natural environment or natural origin. In other words, if someone identifies an opportunity to bottle and sell a water derived from an environmental source, but which requires sterilisation to ensure that it can be safely consumed, then this water can be produced and sold under the category “Waters defined by Origin”. Legislation stipulates that “antimicrobial treatments shall be used in order to conserve the microbial fitness for human consumption, original purity and safety of these waters.”

An important qualifier in the regulations is that a “Water defined by Origin” shall originate from any specific environmental water source without passing through a community water system. In other words, the bottler will need to both collect the water, and control the method of collection from the identified source and bottle it. Thus water derived from a river that is collected by a municipality, will not be allowed to be called a Water defined by Origin, but can be called a “Prepared Water”.

Labelling
The following is required to be indicated on the label:

The name of the product must indicate its environmental source
The name of the source and the physical address of the source
The analytical composition in milligrams per litre in the same order as provided in the regulation.
Descriptors as “still” or “non-carbonated” and “sparkling” or “carbonated”
The method of sanitisation