Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 10 May 2010

A marine research company has proposed a R1.8-billion project to solve the water crisis in Nelson Mandela Bay by tapping ancient water from a huge freshwater source under the seabed.

Dramatic geologic formations are displayed in the Cape Fold Belt - the folded sedimentary sequence of rocks in the south-western corner of South Africa.

In a recent presentation to the Development Bank of SA, Deep Water Research (DWR) from Cape Town said the aquifer – situated 60km off Port Elizabeth – “is larger than the Breede River Dam”. Sucked out hot from at least a kilometre beneath the floor of the sea, the supply would be “very long term and consistent”, it said.

Local experts have raised questions about the proposal, however, pinpointing the need for a comprehensive impact assessment and the need to balance the certainty of finding water in the volumes described against the funds spent searching for it. The security of the resource, the threat of seawater contamination and the geological ramifications should be taken into account, they argued.

In a presentation to the bank at its Midrand headquarters, Hugh Lloyd, a director of DWR, said there were large volumes of fresh water off the South African coast.

“A programme to explore and develop this resource on the coast, where our water resources are diminishing rapidly, has been initiated by DWR.”

The aquifers were revealed during years of oil and gas exploration, he explained. “An exploration well off Port Elizabeth intersected a potentially abundant supply of potable water.

“This resource alone has the potential to be an order of magnitude larger than the Breede River Dam. Such aquifer water resources have potential major advantages over dams as the water is not polluted, doesn’t evaporate, the supply is very long term and consistent, and it can become productive far sooner than a dam.” Continue reading Huge ancient freshwater aquifer under seabed