Water Contamination

Makhotla Sefuli

Makhotla Sefuli
Matjhabeng local Municipality
Lejoeleputsoa district
Free State Province
24th August 2022

#watercontamination

GUBICO being part of the Free State Water Caucus,and also participating in the Central Committee of the South African Water Caucus. We have been active members of the caucus since it’s revival in 2020 and continue to be active until now.

During our recent meeting held in the Eastern Cape coastal city East London in the Buffalo City Municipality,we received a crush course on water testing.The training was conducted by Dr Ferrial Adams from the university of Cape Town who has just completed her Phd with water study as her major area of focus. After the training it was agreed all provinces will receive their water test kits,we received our kit earlier this month.

As an activist I jumped into action immediately after receiving the kit.
The first area I visited was the mine tailings next to BRONVILLE ,this is the area with high radiation and notorious for high volume of acid mine drainage

The kit consists of the following items

3 pairs of latex gloves
6 syringes
1 sample bottle
4 chemical test bottles Nitrate/Nitrites , phosphate ,6-1 test, metal
6 aqua screen bottles
6 petrifilm plates
1 piece of foil
Instructions manual

The water testing yielded results that are not palatable to an activist because many regulations are being violated by the mine company in that area.

The results were as follows

CHEMICAL TEST STRIPS
6 in 1 test strips

1 Total hardness 50ppm
2 Total chlorine 20 ppm
3 Free chlorine 1ppm
4 Bromine 6ppm
5 Total alkalinity 120ppm
6 pH 8,2

Nitrate /Nitrite strips
1 Nitrate 0,5ppm
2Nitrate 1ppm

Phosphate strip
1 phosphate 50ppm

Metal strip
1 metals 100ppm

This area is filled with water from the mine tailings and it is not fenced.The nearby informal settlement is fast encroaching on the area and children are likely to play around this area oblivious to the danger they may expose themselves to while shepherds are taking their livestock to these streams for dinking.
Warning signs are there but they are being ignored and people are always scuppering the area for anything to sell as scrap metal.

The mining company is responsible for fencing the area because anything may happen at any and we can’t be sure about who should take the blame