OVERVIEW OF THE IMPACT OF MINING ON THE ... - IIED pubs

catchment support large numbers of small-scale subsistence farmers in areas that were previously part of the
Apartheid system of “self-governing homelands”.
4.15.1.4 Surface water users
All of the towns and settlements in the sub-catchment rely on water supplied from the water supply
impoundments, or from run-of-river abstraction points and, occasionally (in the lower reaches), from local
boreholes. Most of the water used in the sub-catchment is consumed by the extensive formal irrigation along
the Mokolo River. The sub-catchment has very unreliable supplies of water and there seems to be little
opportunity for expansion of the irrigated areas without the importation of additional water supplies (Midgley et
al., 1999). The Matimba Power Station located close to the Groot Geluk Colliery also uses large volumes of
cooling water.
A few informal settlements have sprung up around the periphery of the minor towns in the sub-catchment.
These settlements lack access to basic services such as clean water supplies and suitable sanitation systems.
In addition, the large numbers of subsistence farmers in the north-eastern portion of the sub-catchment have to
rely on boreholes and hand-dug wells for their meagre water supplies. The Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry is undertaking a concerted campaign to provide water supplies to these and other nearby areas in the
Laphalala and Mogalakwena sub-catchments in an attempt to alleviate the hardships experienced by these
residents.
4.15.1.5 Water management systems
The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) is responsible for the management of all
aspects of water supply and water use in the sub-catchment. The Department operates a routine system of flow
gauging at all dams in the sub-catchment and particular attention is paid to monitoring the quantity of water
supplied to irrigation schemes and towns, as well as increasing attention to the quality of agricultural return
flows and any effluent discharges to the Mokolo River.
4.15.1.6 Human impacts on water resources (excluding mining)
The following activities can be expected to have an impact on water resources in the sub-catchment:
• Landfills and solid waste disposal sites at towns;
• Disposal of liquid (domestic) effluent at all towns;
• Minor volumes of urban runoff from towns;
• Seepage / discharge of cooling water from Matimba Power station;
• Non-point domestic effluent from numerous small settlements and farms;
• Minor non-point impact from non-intensive commercial or subsistence agriculture;
• Non-point impacts of agricultural return flows from intensive irrigation areas; and
• Litter and domestic garbage discarded alongside the roads.
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