Acid Mine Drainage | savingwater.co.za

Water crisis will eclipse Eskom crisis

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 29 November 2010

“The sheer cost of the water crisis will totally eclipse the arms deal, the Eskom crisis and that in many other departments. While we have alternatives for energy, we don’t for water, so the impacts of the water crisis will knock on through all socioeconomic levels.”

Decrease in water quality will have different negative effects on individual economic sectors

That’s the sobering message from Bill Harding, co-founder of DH Environmental Consulting and the previous chairman of the SA Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Scientists.

The water crisis had been in effect in Gauteng for the past 10 to 20 years, with no sign of abating, Harding said.

“There are sub-regional crises in other areas in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and then urban crises in many situations, such as Welkom. The bulk of the problem originates from inadequately treated waste water,” he said.

His comments follow a study conducted by economic research and advisory firm Plus Economics on behalf of trade union United Association of SA.

The study shows that a 1% decline in the quality, and therefore usability, of water in the country could lead to the loss of 200000 jobs and a decline of 5.7% in disposable income per capita, as well as a rise of 5%, or R18.1-billion, in government spending.

Plus Economics chief executive Charlotte du Toit said that the macroeconomic effects of decreased water quality included a rise of 28% in the ratio of government debt to GDP; a decline of R16-billion in household spending; a 1% drop in GDP growth; and a decrease of R9-billion in total fixed investment. Continue reading Water crisis will eclipse Eskom crisis

Water crisis has past eleventh hour

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 25 November 2010

The country’s water crisis is past the eleventh hour as red-tape and interdepartmental bureaucracy remain major stumbling blocks to addressing the problem, trade union United Association of SA (UASA) said on Wednesday.

“Since March this year, it has taken the trade union UASA three well-publicised high-level seminars, an authoritative impact study, numerous meetings and a Section 77 application at Nedlac (National Economic Development and Labour Council) to bring home the message that South Africa is facing a gigantic water crisis,” the union said in a statement.

The union said its water security crusade, labelled “H2O 4 Life”, has “awakened” government, organised business and others to the harsh reality that acid mine drainage and the dumping of sewage and industrial pollutants in “meagre” sources of fresh water were threatening the country. Continue reading Water crisis has past eleventh hour

Deteriorating water quality – a greater threat than climate change

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 23 November 2010

SA needs to spend R360bn over the next 15 years on water treatment plants to secure its water supply.

Deteriorating water quality is arguably a greater threat to SA than climate change

The country also urgently needs to deal with acid mine drainage and invest in renewable energy, which does not pollute as much. This is according to a report released yesterday — H₂O – CO₂ Energy Equations for SA: Present Status, Future Scenarios and Proposed Solutions — which includes projections until 2025.

It was compiled by the Africa Earth Observatory Network, which is linked to the University of Cape Town.

The government has formed a task team to deal with acid mine drainage — the polluted water resulting from mining — but few details of its proposed solution have been made available.

According to the authors of the report, Stephanie de Villiers and Maarten de Wit, discussions about future usage of fossil fuels must also consider the environmental costs associated with coal, including the effect on water. Continue reading Deteriorating water quality – a greater threat than climate change

Deadly health risk to water supplies

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 12 November 2010

The breakdown of ageing sewage treatment works and the discharge of bacteria into rivers and streams pose a deadly health risk to water supplies, the African Christian Democratic Party warns.

Collecting water form [...]

Fresh water crisis within 5 years

Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 28 September 2010

The Environment and Conservation Association said in a statement on Tuesday that it was estimated that in five years, almost 80 percent of the country’s fresh water resources would be so badly polluted that [...]

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Water crisis will eclipse Eskom crisis

Water crisis has past eleventh hour

Deteriorating water quality – a greater threat than climate change

Deadly health risk to water supplies

Fresh water crisis within 5 years

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