TASK TEAM TO INVESTIGATE
Pretoria – Cabinet is expected to give direction in the next two weeks on how South Africa will deal with the potential crisis posed by acid mine drainage (AMD) in Gauteng.
Environmentalists have described AMD as the single most significant threat to South Africa’s environment and as heavy rains persisted this week, fears grew that the problem may be exacerbated. But the Water Affairs Department on Thursday said a decision was looming on the matter following an Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC) meeting with Cabinet to discuss the situation.
It comes after Cabinet mandated the Minister of Water Affairs, Edna Molewa, in August to urgently establish a special task team to investigate how the government should respond to reports of acid water drainage in some parts of the country, mainly in Johannesburg.
The team of experts, chaired by Mineral Resources Department Director General, Sandile Nogcina, has handed over a list of recommendations to be considered at the next Cabinet meeting before a public announcement can be made.
“What we can say is that government is very concerned and takes this matter very seriously and at this stage the recommendations have been signed by both DGs in the Department of Water and that of Minerals and is ready for Cabinet discussion. Everyone will know the way forward in a week or so,” said spokesperson Mava Scott.
Nogcina was not immediately available for comment but Scott said once President Jacob Zuma and his executive have had an opportunity to look at the document, a public announcement will be made and all the necessary steps will be taken to avert the AMD situation.
Acid mine water, or water contaminated with heavy metals as a result of mining activities, is reportedly affecting the South Africa’s economic hub Gauteng, with other cases in Mpumalanga, North West and Free State provinces. Reports suggest that this drainage poses health and economic risks for the country.
Scientists predict that if drastic steps are not immediately taken to shut down disused mine shafts and pump out the acid mine drainage, the poisonous water will flow into rivers and low-lying areas at a rate of up to 70 megalitres a day.
Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the Environmental Affairs Department, said the recent floods, which have raised the levels of the toxic water in the mines, has been a cause for concern.
“We have always said that there are certain periods when the impact will be major due to rains but we are hoping that the next two weeks will provide direction on this matter – but what cabinet decides, is what cabinet decides,” he said.
As a short-term measure, an amount of R218 million was set aside by the department to fit pumps to avert any situation that might arise. – BuaNews
Water in Johannesburg is constantly monitored – from tap water to koi pond water and everything between – to make sure it meets requirements and disease is kept at bay. WATER quality in Johannesburg is constantly monitored by Joburg Water to ensure it meets the requirements of the South African National Accredited System for Drinking Water. Joburg's drinking water goes through stringent testingThis is done through the water utility’s Cydna Laboratory in Houghton, which is responsible for testing the water consumed by about 3,8 million residents of Joburg. It offers a comprehensive chemical and microbiological lab service within the company and offers other City departments a centrally located lab complex with two satellite facilities. Water supplied by Joburg Water must meet the requirements of the South African National Accredited System for Drinking Water, SANS 241 Ed 6.1. To maintain standards, an extensive monitoring programme is in place. This involves an analysis of at least 500 samples every month, covering all reservoir zones, tower zones and informal settlements. Through these tests and constant monitoring, the water utility is “able to respond quickly to any water quality problems and assure the public that every drop of the more than billion litres of water that passes through our network per day is well within the SABS standard for class one drinking water”, notes Tebatso Baldwin Matsimela, Joburg Water’s marketing and communications manager. E.coli Between October 2009 and September 2010, 6 258 samples were analysed and 60 869 tests were done. The lab tests drinking water, industrial water, water from rivers and streams, seepage water, borehole water, sewage, effluent and other waste water, koi and other fishpond water, as well as water from ornamental water features. Escherichia coli, or E.coli, is the most important indicator of the microbiological quality of drinking water. At least 99 percent of samples need to be free of E.coli. Turbidity measures the clarity of water; according to SANS 241, 95 percent of the samples must measure less than one nephelolometric turbidity units (NTU). During the review period, the turbidity in 98,8 percent of the samples was less than one NTU. Water samples are also tested for coliforms, heterotrophic plate count, colour, odour, taste, pH, residual chlorine and conductivity. The lab has state-of-the-art equipment such as flow injection analysers, gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, inductively coupled plasma / optical emission spectrometers, laboratory information management systems, ion chromatographs, colilert equipment and cryoscopes. The average values of selected constituents, together with a maximum allowable value, are: - Sodium, with an average value of 10 and a maximum allowable value of 200mg per litre;
- Potassium, with an average value of 3,1 and a maximum allowable value of 50mg per litre;
- Chloride, with an average value of 10 and a maximum allowable value of less than 200mg per litre;
- Fluoride, with an average value of 0,1 and a maximum allowable value of less than 1mg per litre;
- Calcium, with an average value of 18 and a maximum allowable value of less than 150mg per litre;
- Magnesium, with an average value of 6,1 and a maximum allowable value of less than 70mg per litre; and
- pH, with an average value of 7,8 and a maximum allowable value of 5 to 9,5mg per litre.
A full compliance statement is available monthly online. The Department of Water Affairs also recently gave Joburg Water a Blue Drop award for 2009/2010. It assessed the provision of water to Johannesburg in December 2009, and a score of 98,39 percent was achieved. The prestigious award was given to Joburg for exceeding 95 percent, the highest in the country. The water utility has numerous other accolades under its belt and has countless public education projects that aim to conserve water and water demand management through behavioural change. Read more: http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6128&catid=88&Itemid=266#ixzz1CaLQpuCa
Joburg can be saved from rising acid mine drainage – but only if private and public stakeholders join forces and work fast.
THE government has just 20 months in which to put the infrastructure in place to deal with acid mine drainage in the Witwatersrand area.
The large void beneath the Wits area is filling with water
Acid mine drainage refers to the water that drains over the surface of acid-bearing rock which has been exposed through mining, becoming toxic as it rises to the surface of disused mines and makes contact with air. It threatens the health of rivers and people who come into contact with that water.
The Witwatersrand stretches 50 kilometres from Krugersdorp on the West Rand to Boksburg on the East Rand. Mining started 124 years ago on the Rand, in 1886, but from the 1950s mines across the region started closing down. In 2008, the last remaining operational mine, East Rand Propriety Mines (ERPM) in Boksburg, closed its operations.
ERPM had maintained the water level at 1 200 metres below the surface, pumping 40 million litres of water every day from below ground. The company was in the unfortunate position of having to pump the accumulated water from the remaining disused mines across the Witwatersrand.
Pump water out
While they were operating these mines, mining houses had infrastructure in place to pump the water out. But as the mines closed down and pumping ceased, the underground voids created from mining operations began filling – and continue to fill. Accumulated water flowed into adjacent mines, gradually filling up the entire void.
When ERPM closed, the acid water carried on rising into the void; now, the rising water has covered ERPM’s pump, which is 600 metres below the surface.
The void, created by the removal of 1 300 million tons of rock - yielding over 12 million kilograms of gold - will be completely filled in about two-and-a-half years - just 30 months. But disaster can be avoided if we move quickly.
“The solution to the problem is relatively simple, however, and involves the establishment of pumping stations to pump the water to the surface for basic treatment,” says professor Terence McCarthy, from the school of geosciences at Wits University. He delivered a lecture at Wits last week, entitled “The decanting of acid mine water in the Gauteng city-region”, as part of the Gauteng City-Region Observatory series of lectures.
He indicates that the problem is universal but doesn’t usually occur within a major metropolitan area. McCarthy confirms that at present, the water level is at a depth of about 600 metres below the surface, but it is rising at about 15 metres each month.
“At this rate, the void will be completely filled in about two-and-a-half years from now,” he warns.
The acid water contains sulphuric acid, minerals and metals. “The water that accumulates in the mine void is acidic and contains high concentrations of dissolved sulphate and heavy metals and is toxic and corrosive.”
Decanting water
The acid water will rise and flow out of mines at low points along the reef. These low points are along Main Reef Road and the M2 in Joburg. Already, the void in Krugersdorp has filled up and the contaminated water is flowing out, into streams and watercourses in the area.
Mining companies have closed down, leaving disused mines behind
“Decant will occur because the mine void and openings connected to it such as shafts and collapsed areas occur at a variety of elevations and water will flow into the void in higher areas and decant at low points,” says McCarthy.
The lowest large opening is at the Cinderella Shaft of ERPM in Boksburg, but because water is restricted in its flow laterally, the water level will stabilise at different levels, resulting in multiple decant points.
The first decanting of acid mine water in the city will occur in low basements and the underground cables in Newtown, and possibly also at the disused mine in Gold Reef City, which McCarthy is particularly concerned about as he feels it is a great heritage site, demonstrating to visitors what early mining on the reef looked like.
Solution
But McCarthy says the solution to the problem is relatively simple. It involves establishing two pumping stations – one in Germiston and another in Florida – which will pump the water to the surface, maintaining the water in the void at 250 metres. Treatment plants will need to be established at the pumping stations, and the treated water will be pumped into nearby streams and rivers.
“It must be accepted that pumping will have to continue indefinitely. Initially, this will involve considerable financial outlay to establish the pumping and treatment facilities with an ongoing cost to maintain the pumping and water treatment.”
He explains that much of the expense of the plants will not be new, as the government has for decades been paying pumping subsidies to mines to cover the cost of pumping water from the defunct mines.
But he stresses that time is of the essence, saying there is now a window of opportunity in which steps must be taken to prevent the situation getting out of control. In 20 months, the water will reach the 300m mark, and so “it is essential that steps be taken immediately to start preparing the pumping and treatment infrastructure”.
The Department of Water Affairs has agreed to install one new pumping station and upgrade a sludge treatment operation, to save Johannesburg from rising acid water.
Payment
The question is which parties should pay for the rescue operation – mining houses or the government. McCarthy argues that the government should pay, as it has benefited from tax collected from the companies and their employees. But civil society activists say the companies have benefited from the mining operations and have not acknowledged the damage caused to the environment.
But over the years mining companies have closed down and many no longer exist.
Yet there is good news despite the gloom. In time, probably over 20 years, the quality of the water will gradually improve and become drinkable, making it a profitable operation, says McCarthy.
“However, we have no idea how long this will take and could extend over many decades or longer.”
Read more: http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5977&catid=88&Itemid=266#ixzz16ve2NgXA
We are pleased to announce that we have signed on as a solution partner for Safe Water Systems.
This expands our current range of water saving products to include water treatment on an industrial scale. Using a proprietary electro-flocculation system with technology imported from Australia, we can clean water ranging from 2000L per day up to 1 Mega Liter of water per day.
Cape Town - Climate change is likely to increase the threat which invasive alien Acacia plants, including wattles, rooikrans and Port Jackson, pose to South Africa's already highly stressed water supply.
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 South African 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
Written by: Wilma den Hartigh
Scientists from Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape have developed and patented an inexpensive and effectivefiltering device that could provide safe drinking water to millions of people. This innovation can considerably reduce the prevalence of water-borne illnesses such as cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases.
Prof Eugene Cloete, Dean of the Faculty of Science and chairperson of the Stellenbosch University Water Institute, says the filtering sachet combines years of research on water purification, nanotechnology and food microbiology into a practical filtration solution.
The sachet will provide easy access to clean drinking water for communities living near polluted water sources and therefore vulnerable to water-borne disease.
Cloete was inspired to develop the water filtering device when he saw technology developed by Dr Eugene Smit of the Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science. The technique, known as electro-spinning, applies high-voltage electrical fields to polymer solutions to weave ultra-thin fibres on a nanoscale. This causes the formation of fibres a thousand times thinner than a hair.
“Right away, my mind started churning through the possibilities of how it could be used to clean polluted water,” Cloete says.
Stellenbosch University polymer scientists and researchers from the Department of Microbiology jointly developed the disposable filtering device. The sachet, which is identical to a tea bag in shape and size, is made of the same biodegradable material as an off-the-shelf rooibos tea bag.
How it works
What makes this product distinctive is that the inside of the tea bag material is coated with a thin film ofbiocides encapsulated within tiny nanofibres (defined as fibres with diameters up to 100 nanometres).
A biocide is a chemical substance that kills all disease-causing microbes. Biocides are often used in medicine, agriculture, forestry and industry to prevent the fouling of water and oil pipelines.
The water is poured onto the sachet, which is filled with active carbon granules that remove all harmful chemical pollutants. The nanofibres create a pore size small enough to filter bacteria out of the water.
“The combination of nanofibres and activated carbon is a new combination that hasn’t been tried before,” says Cloete.
Water safety and testing
Once used, the bag is discarded and a new one is inserted into the neck of the bottle. Each bag can clean one litre of water from a river containing contaminated water or water of an unknown quality, making it 100% safe to drink.
There are also plans to commercialise the filter bag into a product that can be used by travellers or hikers, or even people who want to improve their water quality at home. Cloete says people living in cities can also filter their water using the sachet, but as the water would generally be cleaner, one bag could filter approximately 10 litres of water.
Dr Michéle de Kwaadsteniet, a postdoctoral fellow who is working on the project with Cloete and Prof Leon Dicks of the Department of Microbiology, says that they tested the filter with water taken from a river in the Stellenbosch area. The samples were highly polluted, but after filtering with the sachet, the water wascompletely clean.
The bag filter is also currently undergoing testing at the South African Bureau of Standards.
A solution to the continent’s water woes
Water quality is a universal problem and Cloete says that the world will increasingly come to rely on technologies such as these. In many countries on the continent and abroad, water infrastructure is lacking, faulty or aging.
“For many, piped water is a luxury and it is simply impossible to build purification infrastructure at every polluted stream,” he says.
South Africa is facing major challenges in meeting the rising demand for safe drinking water. The lack of adequate, safe and affordable water impacts on vulnerable groups such as the poor, the elderly, HIV/Aids patients and children.
“More than 90% of all cholera cases are reported in Africa, and 300-million people on our continent do not have access to safe drinking water," says Cloete. "Clearly, something has to be done about this."
The tea bag-like filter also is 100% biodegradable and has no ecological footprint. It is a “point-of-use” technology that, because it is used on the spot, can meet the needs of people who live in remote areas, or people whose regular water supply is not treated to potable standards.
In a statement, Prof Russel Botman, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the university, said it is important that science should serve the needs of society. “By aligning the expertise of our scientists with the national and international development agenda, we want to become more relevant to society.”
The invention is one of the first major projects of the newly established Stellenbosch University Water Institute, a transdisciplinary initiative established to step up the search for solutions to the country and continent’s water problems.
The institute and the water filter invention form part of the Stellenbosch University HOPE project, a set of development goals aimed at improving the lives of South Africans and people in the rest of the continent.
Commercialising the product
Once all testing is complete, the team hopes that the filters can be made available to various communities. Cloete says one of the reasons they chose the tea bag design is that the same technology used to pack tea bags can also be used in production of the filtering sachets. This is an economical and practical way to more easily get the product out into the market.
He says that they never expected so much interest in the product and since it has started receiving more exposure, they have been inundated with enquiries. Companies, aid organisations and philanthropists have also shown interest in the filter, and some are looking to purchase the sachets to distribute as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes.
The commercial pricing of the filter hasn’t been finalised, but it will be relatively inexpensive in comparison with similar purification technologies on the market. Distribution is expected to start in January 2011.
“This product can change the lives of ordinary people because it is so simple and efficient. It has captured the imagination of people and it is going to have an amazing impact,” says Cloete.
Source: www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com
The average American lifesyle is fueled by how many gallons of water per day?
A) 2
B) 20
C) 200
D) 2,000
The answer, astounding as it may be, is D.
While that may surprise you, the real kicker is that, according to National Geographic, only 5 percent of that water flows through toilets and taps.
Crazy as it sounds, the other 95 percent is tucked away inside the food you eat and the energy you consume.
To figure out your true H20 footprint, click through National Geographic's Water Footprint Calculator.
CNN tells me this morning that the hot-ticket item this Christmas will be socks and underwear, signs of a still-slow economy.
But I already have my Christmas wish: a rain barrel.
The roof of the "Turtle House" near Bisbee, Arizona, is designed to flow rainwater into storage barrels. (Photo: Jeff Topping/Reuters)
In many countries, from the urbane and wet (France) to the remote and super-dry (northern Chile), I’ve seen family households putting big plastic barrels to good use collecting the rain. Sometimes the barrels are mounted on rooftops, sometimes sitting on the ground and hooked to gutter systems, sometimes half-buried in the ground.
While I’m used to seeing paired SUVs in American driveways, and mandatory satellite dishes, rain barrels are not a typical accoutrement in our suburbs.
But a quick Google search (“rain barrels”) unveils both a booming commercial business in buying and selling them and a whole subculture sharing tidbits on how best to use them.
The benefits are straightforward: cheap (free?) water to use for gardening, washing cars, flushing toilets and in washing machines lowers water bills. Some barrels can even be used to capture drinking water.
On top of that, accumulating rainwater—especially in urban/suburban areas—limits the amount of runoff carrying garbage, fertilizers and other pollutants down gutters and into fresh waterways.
So rain barrels are also good for the ocean.
For a long time, I believed (urban legend?) that the use of rain barrels in California was illegal. The argument was that in a state that occasionally goes very dry, the government wanted all of that free-flowing stuff falling from the sky to help fill creeks and aquifers.
Actually, it's Colorado that has legislated against individual rain barrels, claiming states water rights.
The rights to free-flowing waters—pitting private property owners against the state—have been long fought over in the Western states. If you believe, as many do, that private citizens “own” the water flowing through their property, then collecting rainwater from above their river, creek or stream deprives them of water that should be legally theirs.
“First in time, first in right,” is the long-respected rule. Only in 2009 did the Colorado state legislature permit capturing of rainwater for residential use. Collection must be permitted by the State Engineer’s office and is subject to restrictions.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Californians are among the leaders in rain barrel technology; the use of barrels is encouraged to help avoid the floods that often accompany downpours in the state.
Other cities/states argue for barrels as a way to help keep clean water separated from sewage water. In Bridgeport, Connecticut, for example, the Mayor’s Conservation Corps converts old food storage barrels into rain barrels and gives them for free to low-income families.
Health agencies in developed nations warn against using rainwater for drinking water. In “developing countries,” mosquito nets and proper filters are used to make rainfall fit for human consumption.
When you’re shopping for a Christmas barrel, consider the range of available materials from plastic to concrete, galvanized steel to fiberglass and stainless steel. Keeping barrels above ground, and slightly opaque, helps control algaes and bugs. Vancouver, Canada, residents have competitions to design the most “eye-catching” 50-gallon barrels.
How big is big enough? Solar Survival Architecture recommends a 300-gallon tank for a house supporting two people.
The current state-of-art rain capture system is a modular, scalable system that can be installed underground, especially in new construction, thus maximizing utilization. But a 50-gallon blue plastic drum duct-taped to your chimney works too.
We held a very successful exhibition at the recent Nedbank Green Day, held at the offices in Rivonia. There was sparked interest in our products and many people were keen on the idea of "greening" there homes.
It's great to see a corporate taking such an active interest in looking after their staff and the environment.
The no-touch, no-flush, waterless urinal is coming to a bathroom near you.
GreenBuildingAdvisor.com is reporting that the Waterless Company, which invented the non-water-using urinal in the early 1990s, will ship a waterless urinal tailored for the residential market this week.
According to Building Green, the Baja urinal is a no-flush, touch-free appliance that sells for $248.
Company President Klaus Reichart toldGreen Building Advisor how the savings are calculated:
If there are two males in a home, each using the urinal three uses per day, times 340 days at home, the Baja urinal will replace about 2,040 toilet flushes per year, providing annual water savings of about 3,250 gallons (assuming 1.6 gpf toilets). The savings go up with more males (family members or friends).
According to Jetson Green, the waste filtration system works in the following manner:
Baja is made with a patented EcoTrap system. Basically, fluid flows down into the drain insert and passes through BlueSeal, which is a biodegradable trap liquid that's lighter than water or urine. After about 20 seconds, waste liquid overflows into the central tube and down the drain.
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