-- Braam Pieterse
The North-West Province
is part of the important
mining area of South
Africa, apart from being
a prominent agricultural
area. Headwaters of the
Limpopo River comprise the
north and northwest border of
the province, while the Vaal River, central to
South Africa's present and future development,
makes up the southern border with the Free State.
All the rivers of the province and their tributaries are affected in various ways by human activities. For example, the Schoonspruit River, tributary to the Vaal, is polluted primarily by agricultural and urban development, while the Mooi River, another tributary to the Vaal, is, in addition, intensely polluted by mining activities. Serious problems exist regarding radioactive pollution and polluted source waters from dolomitic areas in the upper reaches of the Mooi River. The Wonderfontein Catchment Management Study is being planned to provide a situation analysis regarding radioactivity, slimes dams and heavy metal pollution.
Various forums or committees have been, or are in the process of being organised in the North- West Province regarding the monitoring of rivers, or for the involvement of the community in matters pertaining to the utilisation and management of rivers. The Departments of Plant and Soil Sciences and Biochemistry and Microbiology will most probably be involved with a biomonitoring programme regarding algal and bacterial parameters. The committees include the Technical Advisory Committee of Water Source Management, The Sub-Mooi River Forum, the Wonderfontein Spruit Forum and the Loopspruit Forum.
Water from the Vaal River is being used extensively for urban, industrial, mining and other purposes. The chemical and biological quality of the water are of extreme importance for the future economic development of South Africa in general, and in the catchment of the Vaal River in particular.
The ecology, i.e. interrelationships with the environment, of Vaal River phytoplankton - representing one aspect of biological quality - has been investigated since 1984 in considerable detail. Seasonal succession of algal populations and the development of algal blooms have been studied in relation to physical and chemical environmental variables -- representing aspects of chemical water quality.
Chemical, physical and biological conditions within a source-water affect the treatment processes of water within treatment plants in an interrelationary way. In addition, although conditions within the treatment plant may be unfavourable for growth and photosynthesis of many algae, growth and photosynthesis of some are stimulated, making them able to penetrate the different phases of purification and to be present in the treated water.
Various expertise and facilities exist in the North-West Province that can be utilised in the monitoring, utilisation and management of the rivers of the province, including the Vaal River.
All scientists and other persons with interests in the aquatic environment of the North-West Province, will be contacted during 1997-1998 and a regional committee for SASAQS will be organised. Normal regional activities should begin directly thereafter.