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

Most of the water used in the sub-catchment is consumed by formal (large-scale) and small-scale irrigation in
the central reaches of the Levuvhu River and Mutale River (Midgley et al., 1999). Most farms and settlements
that are locate away from river channels in the sub-catchment rely heavily on water supplied from local
boreholes and small farm dams. Livestock are watered at small natural springs on the hill slopes or at watering
points along the river channels.
The large urban centre of Thohoyandou is one of the largest water users in the sub-catchment, with water being
supplied to domestic users as well as a wide variety of light industries. A relatively small volume of water is
transferred from this sub-catchment to the Sand sub-catchment to supplement water supplies to the town of
Louis Trichardt.
4.22.1.5 Water management systems
The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), through its office in Thohoyandou, is
responsible for the management of all aspects of water supply and water use in the Levuvhu sub-catchment.
The Department operates a routine system of flow gauging at the four major water supply dams in the subcatchment
and particular attention is paid to monitoring the quantity of water supplied to irrigation schemes,
towns and the Tshikondeni Colliery. 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 for irrigation, 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.
4.22.1.6 Human impacts on water resources (excluding mining)
The following activities can be expected to impact on water resources in the Levuvhu sub-catchment:
• Minor seepage from solid waste disposal sites (rubbish dumps) at the towns and most larger settlements;
• Discharge of effluent (domestic and light industrial) from Thohoyandou;
• Non-point domestic effluent from numerous small settlements and farms;
• Minor non-point impact from non-intensive subsistence agriculture;
• Non-point impacts of agricultural return flows from intensive irrigation areas; and
• Litter and domestic garbage along the roads that traverse the sub-catchment.
4.22.2 Mining and mineral processing operations
The following mining operations are of interest in this sub-catchment (Figures 4.2 and 4.3; Table 4.25).
Table 4.25: Mining operations in the Levuvhu sub-catchment.
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