Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 June 2010

A coalition of environmental scientists and research teams yesterday forced the government’s hand in addressing 120 years of water pollution through acid mine drainage on the Witwatersrand.

Robinson Lake Dam uranium levels are 40 000 times higher than natural levels

The coalition, which had been on the verge of taking legal action against the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, said it would reconsider that option after it was given a commitment yesterday that “this is going to be a matter of national priority and will also be run via the National Treasury and the Department of Mineral Resources”.

“So there is going to be a holistic overview rather than a localised perspective on this endemic problem,” said Mariette Liefferink, the chief executive of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment.

“The reason that led us to resorting to legal action was that we had exhausted all possible avenues, from parliamentary processes to advocacy through the media. But, after assurances from (Mbangiseni) Nepfumbada (the acting deputy director of policy and regulation at the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs), we are going to seek the advice of our legal representative for a review.” Continue reading Government forced to deal with acid mine drainage