Ahead of World Water Day celebrations, the Department of Water and Sanitation has committed to enhance its efforts to explore the use of groundwater as an alternative water source to ensure water security in communities affected by water supply challenges.
This comes as the global community observes World Water Day on 22 March 2022, themed, ‘Groundwater – making the invisible, visible’.
According to the department, more than 50% of available groundwater is being utilised in five Water Management Areas (WMAs) across the country, with the highest utilisation happening in Limpopo.
“It is important to note that the capital city of the North West province, Mahikeng, is mainly reliant on groundwater sourced from a dolomite aquifer from east of the city,” the department’s Director for Surface and Groundwater Information, Zacharia Maswuma, said on Sunday.
The City of Cape Town is investigating the groundwater potential from the deep aquifers of the Table Mountain Group sandstones. Meanwhile, there is also ongoing research conducted in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape to explore the use of the resource.
The department has acknowledged groundwater as a national asset and an integral part of South Africa’s water resources, which has helped to reduce the backlog for domestic water supply in different parts of the country.
The department has warned civil society and business against the pollution of groundwater, as it cripples efforts made by government towards the provision of water for all.
“Groundwater contamination occurs when manmade products such as petrol, oil and other harmful substances get into groundwater supplies and cause it to become unsafe and unfit for human use. Sources of groundwater contamination include septic systems, waste sites and pesticides, amongst other things,” Maswuma said.
Deteriorating groundwater quality may have severe health impacts on health and livelihoods in communities using polluted groundwater without treatment.
Maswuma said the department will not hesitate to take strict measures against those who pollute the resource.
“The National Water Act provides principles within which pollution of water resources, including groundwater, are to be addressed. What we do as a department is that we monitor legacy contamination sources such as old slimes dams, discard dumps and buried asbestos, which remain as potential sources of groundwater pollution,” he said.
The monitoring of groundwater pollution is done collaboratively with several other government departments such as the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, as well as the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, alongside private partnerships.
“Many of South Africa’s indigenous communities rely on groundwater for their survival, while many towns, approximately 320 towns, also depend on groundwater as a sole source of supply in conjunction with surface water. It also expressed that the protection of the resource is significant to help achieve equitable water for all by 2030 and beyond,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za
