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

The soils in the Nzhelele sub-catchment can be divided into three main groups:
• Moderately deep sandy-clay loam soils on the tops of the hill slopes and undulating terrain in the uppermost
reaches of the sub-catchment;
• Shallow to moderately deep sandy soils lining the valley bottoms in the middle reaches of the subcatchment;
and
• Small areas of clay-rich soils with a high sodium content lining internal drainage areas close to the Limpopo
River, and having dispersive characteristics.
Most of the sandy-clay loam soils in the upper parts of the sub-catchment fall within a zone of higher rainfall and
support extensive plantation forestry activities. The sub-catchment is under the jurisdiction of a formal water
control a board board that is responsible for irrigation water allocations from the two storage reservoirs. In
addition, the area along the banks of the Limpopo River is also part of a formal irrigation area, and uses water
that is pumped either from the bed of the Limpopo River or from boreholes sunk next to the riverbed. Several
areas of intensive (irrigated) cultivation of drought-resistant crops such as cotton are located within the irrigation
areas. Further away from the main channel of the Nzhelele and Tshipise rivers, land use consists almost
entirely of subsistence rain-fed cultivation of drought-resistant crops, small-scale livestock farming and game
farming.
Several large and small settlements are located in the upper and middle reaches of the sub-catchment. The
central portion of this sub-catchment also supports large numbers of small-scale subsistence farmers.
4.21.1.4 Surface water users
Most of the water used in the sub-catchment is consumed by irrigation in the central and lower reaches of this
sub-catchment (Midgley et al., 1999). Most farms and settlements in the sub-catchment rely heavily on water
supplied from local boreholes and small farm dams. The hot spring resort at Tshipise uses water obtained
directly from the thermal spring and other (cooler) springs in the area.
4.21.1.5 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 the two 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 to the Nzhelele and
Tshipise rivers. Some 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.
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