scholarly journals A Systemic Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining within the Blyde River Catchment, a Strategic Water Area of South Africa

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 301
Author(s):  
Itumeleng M Selebalo ◽  
Mary C Scholes ◽  
Jai K Clifford-Holmes
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Groundwater Contamination ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Water Area ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Olifants River ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sd Model

Exploratory modelling of the impact of gold mining on groundwater in a strategic water area of South Africa was undertaken. A systems dynamics (SD) model was developed to simulate the impact of gold mining on water quality, focusing on groundwater contamination risk, within the context of competing developmental priorities around water resource development and the socio-economic gains from gold mining. The model also identified interventions to minimise the impacts by the year 2040. The study area was the Blyde River Catchment (BRC), which is part of the Olifants Water Management Area in South Africa. This area is an important contributor, currently and in the future, to freshwater flows and groundwater in the Olifants River Catchment, which is one of South Africa’s most economically important catchments. The model development process included a causal loop diagram­–based problem conceptualisation, followed by the drawing of stock-flow diagrams and the determining of model parameters based on a combination of background literature, data from environmental impact assessments, and from the national Department of Water and Sanitation. The model showed the potential environmental risks of gold mine wastewater production and interventions to minimise these risks. The most effective intervention identified to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination was the development and use of synthetic-lined tailings dams. The baseline simulation result of sulphate loading of 5430 t/year can be reduced by 3070 t/year to give a simulated sulphate load of 2270 t/year in 2040 using this intervention. In comparison, the simulated wastewater recycling intervention only reduced the sulphate load to 4630 t/year and the wastewater treatment interventions to 3420 t/year. This project contributes to the exploratory modelling of an understudied region of the Olifants River Catchment that is a crucial provider of freshwater flows to the Olifants, which is threatened by increasing gold mining in the upper BRC. The SD model highlighted the importance of protecting the dolomitic aquifers in the BRC for the long term sustainability of the catchment, which is particularly important if groundwater development occurs.

scholarly journals Clearing invasive alien plants as a cost-effective strategy for water catchment management: The case of the Olifants river catchment, South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 774-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tshepo Morokong ◽  
James Blignaut ◽  
Nonophile Nkambule ◽  
Shepherd Mudhavanhu ◽  
Thulile Vundla
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Catchment Management ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Olifants River ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Invasive alien plants have a negative impact on ecosystem goods and services derived from ecosystems. Consequently, the aggressive spread of invasive alien plants (IAPs) in the river catchments of South Africa is a major threat to, inter alia, water security. The Olifants River catchment is one such a catchment that is under pressure because of the high demand for water from mainly industrial sources and unsustainable land-use, which includes IAPs. This study considered the cost-effectiveness of clearing IAPs and compared these with the cost of a recently constructed dam. The methods used for data collection were semistructured interviews, site observation, desktop data analysis, and a literature review to assess the impact of IAPs on the catchment’s water supply. The outcomes of this study indicate that clearing invasive alien plants is a cost-effective intervention with a Unit Reference Value (URV) of R1.44/m3, which compares very favourably with that of the De Hoop dam, the URV for which is R2.93/m3. These results suggest that clearing invasive alien plants is a cost-effective way of catchment management, as the opportunity cost of not doing so (forfeiting water to the value of R2.93/m3) is higher than that of protecting the investment in the dam.

scholarly journals Pollution shapes the microbial communities in river water and sediments from the Olifants River catchment, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Valverde ◽  
Errol D. Cason ◽  
Alba Gómez-Arias ◽  
Derya Bozkale ◽  
Danny Govender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
River Water ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Olifants River

The impact of post gold mining on mercury pollution in the West Rand region, Gauteng, South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 111-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.G. Lusilao-Makiese ◽  
E.M. Cukrowska ◽  
E. Tessier ◽  
D. Amouroux ◽  
I. Weiersbye
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Mercury Pollution ◽  
The West ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Modelling the impact of forest loss on shallow landslide sediment yield, Ijuez river catchment, Spanish Pyrenees

2007 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 569-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Bathurst ◽  
G. Moretti ◽  
A. El-Hames ◽  
S. Beguería ◽  
J. M. García-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Yield ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Channel Network ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Good Ability ◽  
Spanish Pyrenees ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The SHETRAN model for simulating the sediment yield arising from shallow landslides at the scale of a river catchment was applied to the 45-km2 Ijuez catchment in the central Spanish Pyrenees, to investigate the effect of loss of forest cover on landslide and debris flow incidence and on catchment sediment yield. The application demonstrated how such a model, with a large number of parameters to be evaluated, can be used even when directly measured data are not available: rainfall and discharge time series were generated by reference to other local records and data providing the basis for a soil map were obtained by a short field campaign. Uncertainty bounds for the outputs were determined as a function of the uncertainty in the values of key model parameters. For a four-year period and for the existing forested state of the catchment, a good ability to simulate the observed long term spatial distribution of debris flows (represented by a 45-year inventory) and to determine catchment sediment yield within the range of regional observations was demonstrated. The lower uncertainty bound on simulated landslide occurrence approximated the observed annual rate of landsliding and suggests that landslides provide a relatively minor proportion of the total sediment yield, at least in drier years. A scenario simulation in which the forest cover was replaced by grassland indicated an increase in landsliding but a decrease in the number of landslides which evolve into debris flows and, at least for drier years, a reduction in sediment delivery to the channel network.

Environmental health outcomes and exposure risks among at-risk communities living in the Upper Olifants River Catchment, South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juanette John ◽  
Caradee Yael Wright ◽  
Maria Aletta Oosthuizen ◽  
Maronel Steyn ◽  
Bettina Genthe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
Olifants River ◽  
Exposure Risks ◽  
Risk Communities
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document