The situation is frightening, says an anonymous source who used to work at the department of water and sanitation
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About seven billion litres of sewage are released every day into rivers and dams
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Quick fixes are inadequate to prevent damage from gold mining’s legacy, but the long-term plan of treating AMD could relieve water shortages
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More than half of the sites showed a high health risk if water
was used for irrigation
Excessive rainfall last month has caused untreated toxic water from old gold mines to decant into waterways on the West Rand
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National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act introduce new offences, increase quantum of fines, extend enforcement powers to municipal managers
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The plant’s closure means that a tide of toxic mine water is rising significantly underground, which could decant into the environment within months
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Levels at a treatment plant in Springs have now breached a critical environmental threshold
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Broken abstraction pumps at the Eastern basin treatment plant mean that water supply may become contaminated, posing a serious threat
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The drowning of 10-year-old Mapula Raleholi is the latest in a series at mining sites in Gauteng
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The proposed change will make it impossible for civil society, or their lawyers, to appeal environmental authorisations without using the services of a costly environmental assessment practitioner
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A new study says the river’s wetlands have accumulated toxic pollutants from mining for more than a century
The government’s vision for mined land: farms, tourism and self-generation of electricity
The Blue and Green Drop programmes are being relaunched to rebuild SA’s often poorly maintained and ‘looted’ water systems
E.Coli counts in tributaries feeding the Hennops River run into tens of millions, far above the permitted limit
The state is saddled with the burden of treating acid water and polluters are escaping the responsibility
Mining areas on the West Rand are ecologically dead because of poor rehabilitation
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About 360 tonnes of salts are dissolved in the Vaal River system every day
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Mismanagement, pollution and a water deficit exacerbated by climate change are to blame
The water and sanitation department has not revoked or suspended water use, ‘but this remains an option’