Tap water in SA could be undrinkable in the next 19 years if the country does not change the way it uses water, or how it treats used water, scientists say.

Already, some of [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 09 March 2011

Tap water in SA could be undrinkable in the next 19 years if the country does not change the way it uses water, or how it treats used water, scientists say.

Already, some of the tap water in SA contains poisons.

Blue-green algae produce toxins that rob water bodies of oxygen.

Poor quality water will negatively affect the economy, curbing the manufacturing sector directly and indirectly, says limnologist Bill Harding. Limnology is the study of freshwater bodies.

Despite Water Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica promising a turnaround in the parlous state of wastewater treatment almost a year ago, there has been no visible action taken to curb the risk from semi-treated water discharged into SA’s rivers and reservoirs, the scientists say.

Last year’s Green Drop (wastewater quality) report showed that only 32, or 3%, of SA’s estimated 850 wastewater treatment works complied with requirements for safe discharge. The report noted that only 449 of the works had been assessed, with the rest either ignoring, or being unable to comply with, the call to submit to scrutiny.

Only 32 (7%) complied with the Green Drop criteria after being measured for E. coli bacteria, nitrates, phosphates and ammonia and other nasties.

The national Green Drop Programme was launched in 2008 and was meant to cover all wastewater treatment works so as not to harm the water bodies into which they discharge their product.

However, the Department of Water Affairs says it has established an emergency response facility for the worst cases identified in the report. Also, various steps were taken to ensure improvements in the Green Drop performance for the next reporting cycle. The 2011 report would be released later this year, said spokeswoman Linda Page.

Mbangiseni Nepfumbada, acting deputy director-general, says while SA’s water and water treatment challenges are real, scaremongering is not helpful.

“Our biggest problem is the cost of cleaning the water, but … SA is known as a country where you are able to drink water from the tap, unlike in some developed countries. We clean our drinking water to SANS 241 (South African National Standards level 241 for drinking water, meaning the water does not pose significant risk to health over a lifetime of consumption, including during infancy and other vulnerable periods) so that we can safely drink our water. We tell people not to drink from streams.”

SA’s “rigorous” wastewater treatment plant standards are not the problem, says Democratic Alliance water affairs and environment spokesman Gareth Morgan. “The problem is that a huge amount of treatment plants take in more effluent than they were designed for. Our bulk water infrastructure has not kept up with new infrastructure developments.”

Water experts point to the deterioration of municipal -level capacity, especially infrastructure and skills, to ensure water quality, as evidenced by the low participation in the Green Drop reporting process.

SA has an annual water infrastructure maintenance spending backlog of R2,66bn, says business analyst Richard Holden, a member of the South African Association of Water Utilities.

Dr Harding says treatment works should be upgraded in Gauteng first because it has the widest eutrophication problem. Eutrophication is the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilisers or sewage.

Eutrophication’s most common symptom is an increase in microcystis, blue-green algae producing toxins that rob water bodies of oxygen, making water sterile. Since 2005 it has caused toxic cyanobacterial “blooms” every year in Gauteng’s Hartbeespoort, Roodeplaat, Klipvoor and Rietvlei dams and KwaZulu- Natal’s Shongweni Dam, says the Department of Water Affairs.

Mr Nepfumbada says the department is reviewing the national water resource strategy, due to be published for public comment towards the end of the year. It also has a Water for Growth and Development Strategy, planning 30 years ahead.

“We can’t develop (our water infrastructure) as we have done in the past …We need to conserve water and manage demand, so our policy is crafted to address the very things these people are asking questions about.”

A big step in the right direction is to promulgate legislation banning phosphorus from fertilisers, laundry detergents and personal hygiene products, says Dr Harding.

This is something the department is “very seriously” considering, says Mr Nepfumbada.

By: Sue Blaine
Source: Business Day

Climate change is likely to increase the threat invasive alien Acacia plants, including wattles, rooikrans and Port Jackson, pose to South Africa’s already highly stressed water supply.

It will cost R34 billion to [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 08 October 2010

Climate change is likely to increase the threat invasive alien Acacia plants, including wattles, rooikrans and Port Jackson, pose to South Africa’s already highly stressed water supply.

It will cost R34 billion to rid South Africa of invasive alien plants

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, tabled on Friday, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said recent studies showed some Acacia species could respond to warmer conditions by developing stronger, deeper root systems, which sucked up more water.

“The research on the impacts of climate change on the ability of invasive alien plants species to out-compete indigenous vegetation is being led by the SA National Biodiversity Institute.

“So far, one of the most significant findings was that the root and shoot systems of some Acacia species could become stronger, which means that they will be able to access water deeper below the soil surface.

“This could make them more aggressive and increase the potential for invasions, leading to an even bigger threat to our natural resources and biodiversity.”

Research on this was ongoing, but “very expensive” and dependent on the availability of funding, Sonjica said.

Earlier this year, an Agricultural Research Council (ARC) report, commissioned by the department of water affairs, found invasive alien plants now infest 20-million hectares of South Africa — an area twice as large as previously estimated.

Among the ARC’s findings were that invasive black, green and silver wattles alone have taken over more than 1.6-million hectares of the country.

The two most badly affected provinces in this regard are the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, where an estimated 600,000 and 300,000 hectares (condensed areas) respectively have been overrun by alien wattles.

In her written reply, Sonjica said recent research — by the Water Research Commission — in KwaZulu-Natal showed stream flow increased by 75,000 cubic metres a year after 65.4 hectares of invasive black wattles were cleared from one study area.

She said the research had also shown that reduction in stream run-off per hectare was twice as great in wattle-infested areas adjacent to streams compared to water losses in infested areas further away from them.

Earlier this year, a senior water affairs official told Sapa that a “conservative” estimate of what it would cost to rid South Africa of invasive alien plants was R34 billion, spent over the next 25 years.

-Sapa
Related Article: Alien plant coverage shocks Water Affairs

In a written reply to parliamentary questions, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said revealing such information could lead to “serious misinterpretation” of the data.

Not all waste-water treatment works meet the [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 September 2010

In a written reply to parliamentary questions, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said revealing such information could lead to “serious misinterpretation” of the data.

Not all waste-water treatment works meet the licencing standard

“What is available and was published… in the 2009 Green Drop Report, is the summary of the performance of each of the 449 WWTWs [waste water treatment works] that were assessed,” she said.

The Green Drop Report—an audit of 449 of South Africa’s 852 municipal WWTWs, conducted between August 2008 and July 2009 — was released, after long delays, in April this year.

According to the document, a total of 403 facilities were not assessed due to, among others, “municipal officials not sufficiently confident in their levels of competence” and “municipalities not managing waste water services according to expected requirements”.

It also found that of the 449 works that were assessed, skills shortages had resulted in many not being operated correctly and “the effluent water quality is no longer compliant”.

Among the parliamentary questions posed to Sonjica – by Democratic Alliance MP Annette Lovemore – was whether information for all WWTWs would be made available to the public, and if not, why not.

The minister replied: “No, such detail information is not available to the public. Revealing details of such a high technical nature will lead to unnecessary additional administrative challenges and serious misinterpretation.”

Speaking to Sapa, Lovemore said not making public information on potential threats to people’s health was unacceptable.

“It’s not acceptable. Each municipality is required to report on results each month. If there is a health risk, people should be told.”

She said that over and above the risks to human health of sewage water finding its way into rivers and streams, the contaminated water also affected crop irrigation, drinking water for livestock and the health of the environment.

In her reply, Sonjica further said that not all WWTWs had been issued licenses or permits to operate. She did not say how many.

Reasons for municipal sewage works not having operating licenses included that some had not applied for one, some did not meet the standard required for a license, and others had “insufficient capacity” to submit the application.

Her department had launched a special project “to address the current backlog in licences”, she said.

- Sapa

In an attempt to combat its water problems, Amathole District Municipality (ADM) yesterday launched a project worth R110 million to supply water to villages where dams have run dry.

The district was declared a [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 September 2010

In an attempt to combat its water problems, Amathole District Municipality (ADM) yesterday launched a project worth R110 million to supply water to villages where dams have run dry.

The district was declared a disaster area by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica in July last year, as levels reached a critical point. Since then, ADM has established a joint operations committee to develop a drought action plan.

ADM spokesperson Gail Pullen said: “Funding application for drought relief was made in the amount of R156 million and to date the municipality has received only R12.4 million from national Treasury in this new financial year.”

Yesterday, ADM launched its infrastructure project at Ehlobo in the Mnquma Municipality (Butterworth and surrounds), which will supply potable water to 27150 people in 38 villages.

Currently, the villages source their water from streams and springs which are subject to seasonal variations and do not provide an assured water supply. Similar projects will be launched in Amahlathi (Stutterheim and Cathcart) and Mbhashe (Dutywa and Willowvale) municipalities.

Plans by ADM to upgrade infrastructure come as various towns in the district record lower than normal dam levels. “The Butterworth and Dutywa areas have a looming water crisis as the Xilinxa Dam, which provides water to these areas, is now at 29.8percent,” said Pullen. This means only four to five weeks of water is left – unless it rains.

South African Weather Services’ Port Elizabeth-based forecaster Mandisa Manentsa said there was a 30 percent chance of rain today in the areas along the coast and adjacent areas, such as Dutywa and Butterworth, but no rainfall was expected next week.

ADM also reported that the Cathcart Dam was empty and the community now relied on borehole water. Local farmer Bruce Fletcher said the situation is bad. “There’s nothing in town and on the farms. We are praying for the big rains.”

The Bridledrift Dam, which is Buffalo City’s basic water supply, is at 19percent.

By: Xolisa Mgwatyu
Source: Dispatch Online

A team of experts is expected to assess the extent of acid mine drainage in the country and report back to an inter-ministerial committee appointed by Minister of Water Affairs Bulelwa Sonjica.

Johannesburg. [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 07 September 2010

A team of experts is expected to assess the extent of acid mine drainage in the country and report back to an inter-ministerial committee appointed by Minister of Water Affairs Bulelwa Sonjica.

Johannesburg. Toxic water will eat away at the city's steel foundations.

Cabinet last month mandated the minister to urgently establish a special task team to investigate how government can best deal with reports of acid water drainage in some provinces.

Acid mine water, or water contaminated with heavy metals as a result of mining activities, is affecting the Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State provinces. Reports suggest that this drainage could result in serious health and economic risks for the provinces and the country.

Speaking in Cape Town on Monday, Sonjica said the experts will appraise the risk and look at what has already been done by various institutions and then assess available solutions and technology.

“They will interrogate and assess viability costs of critical short-term interventions, integrate lasting and sustainable medium- and long-term solutions and explore possible partnerships with private sector,” Sonjica said.

The ministerial committee will reconvene in six weeks time to receive a detailed report from the team of experts covering a reappraisal of the risks and assessment of what has been done as well as the viability and costs critical short term intervention.

Responding to media reports that the streets in Johannesburg’s CBD will be flooded with toxic mine water in the coming months, Sonjica assured the public that the situation was under control and there was no need for people to panic.

As a short term measure an amount of R218 million has been budgeted by the department to fit the pumps and avert the situation.

The minister said the country has been faced with the problem of mine water effluent, including acid mine drainage, for over 100 years when mining began. At the time, no legislative measures were in place and environmental considerations were not prioritized.

Over the past 15 years, government has strengthened environmental regulation through the introduction of National Environmental Management Act, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and the National Water Act.

She said a major challenge for government was to find the perpetrators, naming the gold and coal mines as major culprits.

Source: BuaNews

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica, while acknowledging the seriousness of the threat posed by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), on Thursday assured the public that citizens of Johannesburg would not wake up [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 19 August 2010

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica, while acknowledging the seriousness of the threat posed by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), on Thursday assured the public that citizens of Johannesburg would not wake up one morning to a flood of acid water in the CBD as it has been reported previously.

Acid mine drainage

“The exaggeration of this problem is un-called for and I would like to urge all interested and affected individuals and organizations to refrain from making alarmist statements in relation to this issue,” Sonjica said, adding that the financial interests of the private sector are also to a large degree playing a role in fuelling some of the hype around AMD.

“Government views the matter of the Acid Mine Drainage in a serious light and a series of engagements with my counterparts in the government have taken place on this urgent matter,” said Sonjica.

The Department of Water Affairs said the minister was setting up a high-level technical task team to tackle the AMD challenge currently facing the country in particular the Witwatersrand area.

This initiative is among the minister’s interventions to deal with the impending environmental problem, the department said.

The team comprising experts from the water sector, institutions of higher learning, the mining sector and independent scientists among others will provide an informed, independent assessment of the situation, and propose sustainable, workable and affordable solutions to deal with this issue comprehensively.

Sonjica said that among the key factors in finding a permanent solution to the problem is affordability of options presented thus far.

Given the challenges facing government at this time, it is in the interest of all, to favor cheap effective and sustainable methods of dealing with this issue, she said.

In addition, she said it must be borne in mind that the magnitude and extent of the problem calls for integrated efforts between government and the industry if a sustainable solution is to be found.

“I am happy to say that the mining sector has come on board and has submitted a revised proposal following extensive engagements with government,” Sonjica added.

At the same time, the department said it was stepping up enforcement efforts to ensure accountability of the mining sector and to protect the country’s resources.

“It is a well known fact that previous legislation did not make adequate provision for the rehabilitation and as such the issue of ownerless mines that are no-longer operational exacerbates the problem,” the department said.

Source: miningmx

The government will soon start issuing compulsory water licences for farmers in some river-catchment areas in a bid to divert water to other priorities, such as Eskom’s water-guzzling power stations.

There is a [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 13 August 2010

The government will soon start issuing compulsory water licences for farmers in some river-catchment areas in a bid to divert water to other priorities, such as Eskom’s water-guzzling power stations.

There is a shortage of clean water to cool new coal-fired power stations

Licensing would begin in four of the most sensitive catchment areas “as soon as circumstances will allow”, Water and Environment Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said at a summit in Boksburg this week.

The areas are Inkomati (Mpumalanga), Jan Dissels (Western Cape), Umhlathuze (KwaZulu-Natal) and Tosca (Northern Cape).

“In these catchments, commercial farmers must expect that their water allocation for irrigation could be curtailed,” she said.

The move starts a tug-of-war for water, much of the scarce supply polluted by mines. There is a shortage of clean water to cool new coal-fired power stations, and opposition from farmers and environmental groups, who say the state’s fossil-fuel energy plan is unsustainable.

Farmers and mines compete fiercely for water, particularly in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, where most of the coal reserves are.

The government says it will crack down on illegal water use, and has set up a chief directorate to police the new licensing system.

It was estimated recently that Inkomati provides a third of the water Eskom uses. Farmers there believe that their irrigation water will be used to supplement Eskom’s supply and that they are paying for poor planning.

Sonjica did not single out Eskom as a beneficiary of an additional water supply but hinted that farmers would no longer enjoy an unrestricted supply of water.

“South Africa is a water-scarce country and the largest portion of water is already authorised for irrigation. Other sectors, such as the mines, industries, municipalities, previously disadvantaged communities and the environment are also competing for this already allocated water,” Sonjica said.

Agriculture consumes more than half the country’s water.

The water redistribution plan would probably involve huge financial compensation for farmers.

Isobel van der Stoep, of the SA Irrigation Institute, said: “Everybody has invested a lot of money in [irrigation] infrastructure, whether farms or factories. [The state has] to take that into account.”

Farm union Agri SA’s director for natural resources, Nic Opperman, said the union supported the government’s plan as long as it “remained within the framework of current legislation”.

By: Bobby Jordan
Source: Times Live

Debts owed by municipalities to water boards have risen by R200 million since May, taking the total now outstanding to R1.4 billion, which has the potential to wreak havoc on service delivery across huge [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 02 August 2010

Debts owed by municipalities to water boards have risen by R200 million since May, taking the total now outstanding to R1.4 billion, which has the potential to wreak havoc on service delivery across huge swathes of the country.

Local Government Research Centre director Clive Keegan warned last week that water boards would have to warn municipalities to pay up or receive reduced supply, as Eskom had done with municipalities that had not paid their electricity supply bills.

However, he said the water boards could not cut off water supply completely, as that would be ‘unconstitutional’.

In May Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said municipalities owed R1.2bn to water boards, including R653m in current debt and R609m in arrears.

DA MP Gareth Morgan said on Friday that the figure now stood at R1.4bn.

According to the National Taxpayers’ Union (NTU), municipalities all over are not paying for water and electricity. The effect of this was felt in Phalaborwa recently, when water restrictions were imposed.

NTU president Jaap Kelder reported that the water supply had been restricted because R100m was owed by the municipality to the local water board.

‘This, we understand, has been reduced to R60m after the municipality made arrangements to pay some of the arrears,’ he said, adding that supply was now back to normal.

While Eskom yesterday declined to provide figures of outstanding amounts owed by municipalities for electricity, it is estimated to still run into hundreds of millions of rands.

The NTU said Frankfort owed R426 000, while Villiers, Cornelia and Tweeling, also in the Free State, owed R12m.

Morgan noted that payment backlogs affected maintenance. He noted that the Albany water board was recently taken over by the Amatola water board after the board went into the red.

By: Donwald Pressly
Source: Business Report

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica signed a water-sharing agreement with her Swaziland counterpart, Tsandzile Dlamini, at Driekoppies Dam in Mpumalanga on Friday.

Driekoppies Dam

Under the agreement, communities living on both [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 25 July 2010

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica signed a water-sharing agreement with her Swaziland counterpart, Tsandzile Dlamini, at Driekoppies Dam in Mpumalanga on Friday.

Driekoppies Dam

Under the agreement, communities living on both sides of the border will have the right to use water from the dam.

“SADC member countries have agreed to preserve water and promote the sharing of resources among ourselves, and therefore this is a good move for both countries because the project will benefit the citizens of both South Africa and Swaziland,” said Sonjica.

She reminded community members who attended the launch that water had to be used sparingly.

“As we celebrate our achievement today, we should never forget the fact that Swaziland and South Africa are indeed water-stressed countries. We do not have a surplus of water and we cannot afford to abuse our precious water resources. A few good thunderstorms or rising dam levels can never be invitations to waste water or to underestimate its value,” she said.

During the signing of the agreement on Friday, three agricultural sheds and a variety of farming implements were handed over to beneficiaries from the Schoemansdal, Schulzendal and Middelplaas communities, who were forced to relocate when construction of the Driekoppies Dam started in 1994.

The various communal compensation projects amount to more than 260ha under irrigation using water from Driekoppies Dam, as well as about 2900ha of farming land used for various crop cultivation projects.

Sonjica told the beneficiaries that a “mammoth task” awaited them in ensuring the success of their projects.

“Today, the ball is in your court and I challenge you to take heed of the teachings you received from your various mentors and take full responsibility of your projects. By so doing, you will ensure continued success, and your work will be hailed as one of the best of all dam relocation projects.

“I must emphasise that this means hard work, increased commitment and diligence. However, the rewards also mean wider and deeper economic benefits. I am confident that you are capable of taking each project to heights whereby you will not only be a beacon to the province but to the entire country as well,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mathapha Khoza assured the minister that government had invested its money well and the dam’s usage would be to the benefit of all the communities around it.

“We will make sure that this project is properly handled. Water is a precious gift from God, and preserving the water and the land is our priority,” said Khoza.

Source: BuaNews

A double whammy from the pollution legacy of more than 100 years of gold mining on the Witwatersrand, and inadequately maintained sewage works could leave South Africa’s economic heartland facing a water crisis of epic [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 06 July 2010

A double whammy from the pollution legacy of more than 100 years of gold mining on the Witwatersrand, and inadequately maintained sewage works could leave South Africa’s economic heartland facing a water crisis of epic proportions within two years if drastic interventions by the government and industry are not urgently put into place. The cost involved could be in the order of R500 billion, but if left unattended, the looming pollution crisis could hamstring growth and cause a plague of health problems.

The Witwatersrand basin contains porous, sponge-like dolomitic rock

A report with recommendations from the Chamber of Mines more than 60 years ago to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, aimed at securing the quality of South Africa’s water resources, went by unheeded.

The Jordaan Commission warned eight years later in 1960 about imminent problems concerning the increased levels of iron, sulphates and manganese.

The recommendations made at the time did not receive any serious attention from the government of the day.

Now environmentalists warn that without urgent action, mine water as corrosive as battery acid will gush from Joburg’s Wemmer Pan and seep into the city’s streets and gardens within two years. Among others, the integrity of buildings in the central business district could be threatened.

Read full article here: Leadership online
Read related article: Toxic minerals and acids at dangerous level