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

decline rapidly in the area to the north of the town of Louis Trichardt and the Soutpansberg Mountains, until the
town of Messina is reached close to the Limpopo River. The upper and central portions of this sub-catchment
support very large numbers of small-scale subsistence farmers.
4.20.1.4 Surface water users
All of the cities, towns and settlements in the Sand sub-catchment rely on water supplied from numerous small
water supply impoundments, or from run-of-river abstraction points and, occasionally (in the lower reaches),
from local boreholes. These water supplies are supplemented by water transferred into the sub-catchment from
the Olifants River and from the headwaters of the Levuvhu River. The relatively small areas of irrigation
consume a significant proportion of the water used in the upper and lower-central reaches of the sub-catchment.
Most of the large numbers of subsistence farmers in the upper and central portions of the sub-catchment rely on
boreholes and hand-dug wells for their water supplies. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is
undertaking a concerted campaign to provide water supplies (usually ground water via boreholes) to these
residents in an attempt to improve the reliability of their water supplies.
4.20.1.5 Water management systems
The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), through its Provincial office in
Pietersburg, is responsible for the management of all aspects of water supply and water use in the subcatchment.
The Department operates a routine system of flow gauging at all major water supply 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 Sand River. Extensive surveys of the sub-catchment’s ground water potential have been carried out by
DWAF so as to facilitate selection of appropriate locations for water supply boreholes.
Irrigation Boards are locally responsible for providing allocations of water to their members, though they are not
responsible for the quality of the water supplied or for the quality of any irrigation return flows that seep back to
nearby watercourses.
4.20.1.6 Human impacts on water resources (excluding mining)
The following activities can be expected to have an impact on water resources in the Sand sub-catchment:
• Minor seepage from landfill sites and solid waste disposal sites at several of the larger towns and cities;
• Disposal of liquid (domestic and some light industrial) effluent at all towns;
• Minor volumes of urban runoff from the larger towns;
• Non-point domestic effluent from numerous small settlements and farms;
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