| Summary: | Water management challenges in the Mooi River catchment are becoming increasingly complex due to an
increase in the demand of water users combined with the current and historic negligent pollution of water.
In this regard, the illegal discharge of effluent by major water users, especially the gold mines, is the most
prominent.
A clear demonstration of the growing complexity and urgency of the situation in the Mooi River catchment,
is the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Gauteng regional office of the
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) and the Potchefstroom Local Municipality. This MOU
calls for inter aha the following: integrated monitoring of the Wonderfontein Spruit and Mooi River
catchments and the commencement of a risk assessment to users downstream of the Wonderfontein
Spruit.
The Potchefstroom Local Municipality is currently reliant on the Mooi River as its sole source of raw water
for the supply of drinking water to its citizens. Unfortunately, water quality in the Mooi River catchment is
impacted on by water from its Wonderfontein Spruit tributary, primarily due to constant pollution by goldmining
industries and associated abandoned infrastructures and deposits in the Wonderfontein Spruit region.
The discharge of polluted underground mine water within the Wonderfontein Spruit catchment, combined with
the underground flooding of some abandoned mines, has resulted in the pollution of both the surface water of
the downstream river system, as well as the underlying dolomitic water resources, adversely affecting the
beneficial use of water in the Mooi River catchment.
The following reasons enhance the complexity of the abovementioned situation even further, as it minimises
the chances of successful remediation and restoration:
1) not only has it been demonstrated that there is interaction between the surface streams of the
Wonderfontein Spruit and its associated dolomitic ground water compartments;
2) but it has also been demonstrated that the sediments of the Wonderfontein Spruit tributary and its
downstream dams are continually enriched with heavy metals and radionuclides, which could be
released into the downstream water under certain uncontrollable circumstances, resulting in a
significant deterioration in the water quality of all downstream users, including the City of
Potchefstroom.
This study therefore questions the sustainability of the current situation, and recognises its vulnerability and
possible health risk. This study supports the need to take action in line with the precautionary principle of
the National Environmental Management Act, No 107 of 1998, which advocates that a "risk-averse and
precautionary approach" be followed. The feasibility of the following alternative solution is considered:
Diverting the Wonderfontein Spruit towards an area downstream of the Potchefstroom raw water
abstraction points in order to ensure an improved raw water quality supply for Potchefstroom.
The feasibility study of the diversion is concluded in section 5, and comes to the following preliminary
conclusion:
The Wonderfontein Spruit diversion would indeed be a feasible option to be considered for improving the
raw water quality of Potchefstroom, due to the following reasons:
The proposed diversion will
improve the current situation by minimising the contamination potential of the Potchefstroom raw
water by the Wonderfontein Spruit at Turffontein; and
improve on the current raw water quality available to Potchefstroom; and
minimise the potential health risk of the current situation, as has been considered by previous
studies (see section 1); and
provide a feasible alternative water use (namely agriculture) for the diverted water from the
Wonderfontein Spruit at Turffontein.
However, the study also notes that the following factors also have to be taken into consideration, as they
might have an influence on the feasibility of the abovementioned proposal, despite the abovementioned
water quality advantages:
As the diversion would influence water-availability, water availability should also be taken into
consideration: the study recommends that a water-needs assessment be conducted, in order to
contemplate on the feasibility of dedicating the Klerkskraal Dam as a water resource exclusively for
Potchefstroom.
The current lack of monitoring data on key water quality parameters of the Wonderfontein Spruit at
Turffontein, were also regarded as a priority to be addressed, as the outcome of such monitoring data
could influence the feasibility of the abovementioned proposal for agricultural purposes, and also the
sustainability of the current situation.
Alternatives to this solution are briefly described in Addendum 5 of this study. These alternatives basically
consider the following:
leaving the current situation as it is (the "No Go" option);
utilising supplementary water (for example Rand Water or dolomitic water); or
dedicating the Klerkskraal Dam as the sole raw water resource for Potchefstroom.
Various other recommendations were made, and are listed in Section 6 of this study === Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.
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