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

The upper reaches of the Selati sub-catchment contain small areas of plantation forestry (Pines) and there are
important natural forests on the steep escarpment slopes. The central portion of the sub-catchment supports
extensive rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, consisting primarily of citrus and sub-tropical fruits, as well as
smaller areas of vegetables. The central and lower reaches of the Selati River provide an important source of
water for game farms and a few livestock (cattle and goats) rearing farms. In areas located away from the main
river channel, rain-fed subsistence agriculture is important, with livestock rearing of cattle, goats and donkeys.
The town of Phalaborwa is the largest town in the sub-catchment and forms the regional service centre for the
entire area with the development of light and heavy industries associated with the mining activities in the area.
The smaller towns of Namagale and Lulekane serve principally as dormitory towns for staff employed on nearby
mines and industries. Several smaller settlements are located in rural areas or communal lands within the
former homeland states of Gazankulu and Lebowa.
5.7.1.4 Surface water users
The mines and larger industries in the town of Phalaborwa receive either domestic quality or industrial quality
water from the Phalaborwa Water Board. The town of Phalaborwa and its associated mines and industries is
the largest and most important water user in the Selati sub-catchment. The Phalaborwa Water Board provides
almost all of the water required by the town of Phalaborwa from the Phalaborwa Barrage, located on the Olifants
River. When water levels in the Phalaborwa Barrage fall to low levels, the Board requests releases of additional
water from the Blydepoort Dam to supplement inflows to the Phalaborwa Barrage and assure water supplies to
the town.
All the other smaller towns in the sub-catchment rely on water supplied from small water supply impoundments
or, in the case of the town of Gravelotte, water transferred into the sub-catchment from the Letaba subcatchment.
Most of the smaller settlements in the sub-catchment have to rely on water supplied from boreholes
or from run-of-river abstraction points and, occasionally (in the middle reaches), from local boreholes or handdug
wells. The small areas of irrigation agriculture are important water users in the middle reaches of the subcatchment.
The Selati sub-catchment is considered to be water-stressed and relies almost entirely on inflows from the
Olifants River. The promising deposits of heavy mineral sands near Gravelotte cannot be exploited costeffectively
because of the general shortage of water in the sub-catchment.
5.7.1.5 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 system of routine flow
gauging and water quality sampling at specific points and pays particular attention to the quantity of water
supplied to irrigation schemes and towns, as well as increasing attention to the quality of agricultural return
flows and effluent discharges.
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