We never know the worth of water until the well is dry

As South Africa and the rest of the world head to the climate negotiations in Paris next week to “blow more hot air”, our government needs to acknowledge that without solving the social and environmental crises at the local level, , we cannot even begin to push a progressive climate agenda at the international level.

Until the reservoirs started running dry over the last couple of weeks, most South Africans paid scant attention to the fact that South Africa is a water-stressed country. South Africa only receives half the global average rain fall. As our rainfall is not distributed evenly over the entire country, the bulk of the rain occurs in the eastern parts of the country leaving the western regions much drier.

Being a water-stressed country, the way we utilise our limited resources has always been a top priority for government and it has spent impressive amounts on projects that would “ensure the country maintains a sustainable water supply.” The Mega projects include R16-billion for the Olifants River Water Resource Development Project in Limpopo – which includes over R3-billion to be spent on the De Hoop Dam and a further R13.1-billion on distribution systems for example.

Yet, competing with the need to secure and maintain a sustainable water supply is the mining sector— globally notorious for its excessive use and contamination of water sources.

Looking at South Africa`s water challenges, one might be forgiven for thinking that mining is a receding threat. But far from being a ‘sunset industry’, and despite the cyclical downturn of commodity prices, mining will be with us for some time yet, and the industry remains grimly determined to strip every hectare of any mineral deposits it can lay its hands on.

Mining has always been the backbone of the South African economy and an important source of foreign exchange and investment. It is no surprise then, that an industry that has seen over 150 years of profitable investments and wealth extraction, would not suddenly walk away from a treasure trove that is estimated to be well in excess of R40-trillion according to City Bank`s conservative estimates about one of the most valuable mineral reserves in world.

Evidently, both government and mining companies are rushing to ensure that ‘mining red-tape’ is reduced and that prospecting and mining licences are issued with as little hindrance as possible.  DLA Cliff Decker Hoffmeyer reported in 2013, that over 50 mines in South Africa operate without valid water use licences (WUL) under the National Water Act, No. 36 of 1998 (NWA). In order to correct this hindrance to the super exploitation of the land, environment and communities, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), with agreement from the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), proposed in its 2013 Amendments to the Mineral Petroleum Resource Development Act (MPRDA), to grant the DMR the authority to issue water use licences to new and existing mines. The DMR further proposed that licences will only be issued “where necessary”.

Various critics have pointed out that placing this discretion with the DMR, not only removes important checks and balances, but that the general exemption from environmental laws enjoyed by the mining industry, will be further expanded to a critical and vital source of livelihood, which will affect the entire country over time.

As an example of the favoured status of the mining industry, the Centre for Environmental Rights has pointed out that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act’s (MPRDA) environmental management rules provide for: inadequate notice of new applications that violate the principles of administrative fairness; inadequate time and opportunities for public participation; inadequate time for proper assessment of environmental impacts; penalties that are so low as to be no disincentive whatsoever for mining companies (where the maximum fine for an offence under the MPRDA is R500 000 compared to the R5-million for similar offences in other environmental legislation).

As one of the biggest water consumers in the country, the favoured status of mining, together with its notorious propensity to contaminate water sources poses a grave risk to South Africa`s future water sustainability.

Mining water use is estimated to be as much as 10.5% by the Nature Divided Land Degradation in South Africa Report, compared to 11.5% for urban and domestic use. With over a thousand active mines using as much water as a population of over 50 million people, the extent of mining`s impact on our water sources becomes acutely apparent.

The BenchMarks Foundation reported that the Department of Water Affairs have found in its 2010 National Resources Planning Report that majors such as Anglo and BHP Billiton have little regard for water and environmental legislation and regulations. The Report states that with regard to Emalahleni (Witbank) Dam “[t]here is no recorded licensed abstraction from this dam as found after an assessment of the WARMS data. The amount of water abstracted reaches a value of approximately 47.27 million m3 /annum. The assurance yield is notably exceeded. A large quantity of water is distributed for industrial and mining use. None of these quantities are recorded on WARMS database”.

According to a report commissioned by ActionAid South Africa and drafted by Wits University’s Society Work and Development Institute (SWOP), in the previously  water-rich community of Mapela in Limpopo, also home to Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena Mine, ethnographic material suggests that many people in the villages have lost access to land as a result of mining, particularly ploughing fields and grazing land where water supply is a challenge. “Many residents associate this challenge with the impact of the mine,” reads the report.

Concurrent water use however, is only one part of the never-ending legacy of mining on water sources. Add to this the over 6000 abandoned mines dotted throughout the country, and the true extent of mining`s poisonous effect becomes impossible to ignore.

In a 2008 paper prepared for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) Dr Suzan Oelofse of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) states, “A major environmental problem relating to mining in many parts of the world is uncontrolled discharge of contaminated water (or decant) from abandoned mines. Commonly known as acid mine drainage (AMD), there is wide acceptance that this phenomenon is responsible for costly environmental and socio-economic impacts.”

Nowhere is this more evident than in the high rainfall, water catchment areas of the Mpumalanga Highveld where mining, agriculture and communities live cheek by jowl in a deadly cocktail of polluted air, water and soil. According to Greenpeace, “the flow of AMD into South Africa’s surface and ground water systems has devastating consequences that are both far-reaching and long-term. These consequences include degrading the quality of our water systems, poisoning of food crops, endangering human health, and the destruction of wildlife and eco-systems, infrastructure and heritage sites. Currently millions of litres of AMD are still flowing into streams connected to both the Vaal and Crocodile Rivers and groundwater systems. This has devastating consequences for communities and the environment.”

For South Africa, the wells are running dry and the value of water is increasingly becoming a matter of life and death. In its 2014 report on water, the South African Human Rights Commission warned:

“In Madibeng, (‘place of water’) which is in the platinum-rich North West province, where mining companies, agribusiness and tourist industries surrounding the four dams, including wealthy Hartebeespoort, pay less per kilolitre than poor households. Yet they use and pollute most of the water, with little or no Government regulation.

The choices those in power make about people’s lives, including those reflected in budgets, trade agreements and contracts with companies who are unregulated ‘service providers’ reflect government’s priorities.

The tragic death of four people, killed by police, while protesting the lack of access to clean drinking water in Madibeng Municipality, demands an interrogation of those priorities.”

This article also appears On AASA website