It's taken the government 14 years to take the issue of AMD (acid mine drainage) seriously and focus on finding practical solutions – and even to acknowledge the importance of enforcing compliance and regular inspection! What is lacking is the political will and commitment to implement plans and apportion liability. AMD on the Witwatersrand has now reached a crisis point.
While South Africans are witnessing the “catastrophe”, the government committees are debating the water crisis in boardrooms, and nothing has been done to prevent the decanting of acid mine water. The first AMD (acid mine drainage) decant that occurred on the West Rand in 2002, was predicted in 1996. When will the department of water affairs recognise the situation for what it is – a pending disaster! Decisive action has become imperative as acidic mine water has now reached the Cradle of Humankind from the West Rand.
In July 2010 the department stated that potential decant within the Johannesburg area could take place within 18 months, or by early 2012. Those 18 months had now shrunk to 12 months.
It is all very well that the inter-ministerial committee appointed by the department of water affairs to investigate, completed its work, but besides the announcement of a report of which the findings were never made public, we have heard nothing further.
Due to governments delays in dealing with AMD and given the huge volumes of AMD currently decanting, inadequate treatment methods (i.e. neutralisation) may have to be implemented in the short term – at the expense of our environment, health and economy! The threats are massive: Not only our water, but our health and food security is compromised. It is worrying that instead of scientific research and engineering, Ministers are calling for simplistic and quick solutions. Acid mine drainage is the most significant environmental threat facing South Africa and is going to take billions of Rands and will involve all sectors of society for many decades, if not centuries, to come.. We wait with bated breath to hear what Cabinet determines is the way forward!
Footnote:
For the record: A serious case of insufficient funds again! Government lacks the R1.5-billion needed for a 10-year rehabilitation plan. Just one pump to remove the water costs R218-million, but the current budget for this is R14-million. Which begs the question - Was the multibillion-rand Arms Deal, the R40-billion World Cup Soccer, the R21-billion Gauteng Freeway system or Cuba's R1.1-billion freebie a life and death situation? And what of our Disney World that is expected to cost R25-billion? Or is this #101 failure of government where self-help is the order of the day - 'Water is Life' - do you think this may have dawned on anyone in government?
Radioactive Pollution Acid Mine Water reaches Cradle of Mankind
Acidic mine water that has been bubbling out of an old ventilation shaft on the West Rand for the past year has now reached the Cradle of Mankind and caused the deaths of over 60 carp in a dam.
Radioactive dam left after failure to rehabilitate mine
This stream runs from the Tweelopiespruit, which springs from the radioactive Robinson lake outside Randfontein. From here it runs through the Krugersdorp game reserve, "over" the Sterkfontein Caves, right through the Cradle of Mankind up to the Crocodile River, which runs into the Hartbeespoort Dam.
Neil Norquoy from Wild Cave Adventures found the dead fish on the farm Koelenhof on Thursday.
The farm is about 10km northeast of the place where millions of litres of acidic mine water has been leaking on the West Rand since last year.
The dam is situated about 3km northeast of the Sterkfontein Caves.
The pollution had spread from the old Rand Uranium goldmine on the West Rand and has now spread north to within the Cradle of Mankind.
At this stage, it has already passed the Sterkfontein Caves as the Blaaubankspruit runs "over" the Sterkfontein Caves.
Water specialist Garfield Krige said he believed the acidic mine water of the West Rand had reached the Hartbeespoort Dam "long ago".
The heavy rains over the past two weeks have filled the underground mined-out pockets on the West Rand to such an extent that there are now about 40 million litres of sour mine water in the Tweelopiespruit each day.
Krige, who lives in the Cradle of Mankind, said stones in the area where the Blaaubankspruit flowed, are also coloured bright orange.
The whole shore area of the Tweelopiespruit is coloured dark orange.
What is AMD - Acid Mine Drainage?
AMD is a deadly cocktail of chemicals which includes various sulphates, and metals such as lead, magnesium, cadmium, bismuth, and radioactive uranium, strontium (one of uranium’s progeny) and radium which decays into radon, radon gas, polonium, and thorium.
Ministers 'simple and quick’ solution - neutralisation!
What is neutralisation?
Neutralisation is simply a pH adjustment, for example by adding lime to acid mine water. Neutralisation with lime removes some of the sulphate salts from the water, but not enough. It makes metals fall out of the water to the bottom of the water course.
In the West Rand, neutralisation of AMD has resulted in the discharge of water with high sulphate salt content and a stream lined with metal deposits. (See photo right and click here: ‘Inadequate treatment of acid water flowing into Tweelopiespruit’.)
Neutralisation also does not deal with radioactive particles from uranium in AMD.
For neutralisation to be an effective water treatment method, the water needs to settle in holding tanks and the deposited toxic sludge removed and disposed of safely.
(SEE IMAGES AND VIDEO LINKS BELOW)
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