Swathes of SA utilise groundwater

Today is World Water Day and 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 affected communities.

World Water Day this year has been themed “Groundwater – making the invisible, visible”.

According to the department, more than 50% of available groundwater is being utilised in five water management Areas in the country, the highest being in Limpopo.

“Mahikeng is [also] 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 ongoing research being conducted in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.

The department has acknowledged groundwater as a national asset and an integral part of South Africa’s water resources, which has helped reduce the backlog for domestic water supply in the country.

It warned against the pollution of groundwater, as that cripples efforts 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. Maswuma said the department would 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.”

The monitoring of groundwater pollution is done collaboratively with several other departments such as mineral resources and energy, as well as environment, forestry and fisheries, alongside private partnerships. –