Johannesburg might soon lose its popular Gold Reef City mine if the authorities do not act quickly to pump out acid water that has drained onto the site.
This is according to Professor Terence McCarthy, of the department of geology at Wits, who said the acid water would start spilling out of the central basin - which extends from Roodepoort on the West Rand to Germiston on the East Rand - within 20 months if action were not taken.
McCarthy said the Gold Reef City mine is not only an important attraction for tourists but has historical and educational significance.
Speaking yesterday at a meeting in Johannesburg convened to discuss the environmental effects of pumping water polluted by acid mine drainage out of Witwatersrand mines, McCarthy said there is not enough time to build pumps and water treatment plants to stop the flooding or neutralise the acid.
The western basin of the Witwatersrand is already decanting thousands of litres of polluted water every day into rivers near Krugersdorp.
When the pumps in the central basin are operational, about 65million litres of water a day will be pumped out of mines and into rivers.
The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, a parastatal, has been appointed by the Department of Water Affairs to make sure that the acid water does not damage the environment.
Acid mine drainage occurs when water in large disused mines reacts with metals in the rock to form acidic solutions that are harmful to the environment and animals.
The cost of building the infrastructure and pump stations to neutralise the water in the Witwatersrand was estimated at R900-million last year.
Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority's Nigel Rossouw said yesterday that the authority is still short of half the money needed for the project.
The Department of Water Affairs and ultimately taxpayers are providing the other half.
It has been proposed that lime be added to the polluted water to neutralise its acidity . The treated water would then be pumped into tributaries of the Vaal River. It will still be polluted with 2500mg of sulphates per litre.
The Department of Water Affairs stipulates that sulphates in drinking water must not exceed 600mg per litre
The figure of 2500mg per litre exceeds the safe amount for industrial, agricultural and human use of water, said private environmental consultant Dr Pieter van Eeden.
A representative of mining companies said that the firms had not been consulted about acid mine drainage and that an impact assessment for a process that cannot be completed due to financial constraints was pointless.
Van Eeden said communities that use water from the Vaal system, such as Parys, will be affected by the sulphate-rich water.
- Times Live
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