Steelpoort Town

CONTRACT WP 9711 DEVELOPMENT OF A RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR ALL TOWNS IN THE NORTHERN REGION

GREATER SEKHUKHUNE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY GREATER TUBATSE LOCAL MUNICIPALITY: FIRST ORDER RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT TOWN

Steelpoort Town, Winterveld Mine and Mahlokwaneng

DRAFT VERSION 1.3 April 2011

Prepared by Prepared for: SRK Consulting Department of Water Affairs PO Box 35290 Directorate: National Water Resources Planning MENLO PARK Private Bag X313 0081 PRETORIA, Tel: +27 (0) 12 361 9821 0001 E-mail: [email protected]

RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 }

DEVELOPMENT OF A RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR ALL TOWNS IN THE NORTHERN REGION FIRST ORDER RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT TOWN WATER SUPPLY SCHEME EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The rudimentary strategy objectives and methodology are presented in a separate report titled “ Starter document: Methodology followed for the Development of Reconciliation Strategies for the All Town Study Northern Region ” and must be read in conjunction with this document. Location and Background Information The focus of this document is on Steelpoort Town, Mahlokwaneng and the Winterveld Mine Residential Area situated to the west of Greater Tubatse Local Municipality in the Greater Sekhukhune District. Steelpoort Town is situated in the Steelpoort River Basin River, on the R555 Route in the Burgersfort-Stoffberg corridor of the Greater Tubatse Local Municipality, near the border of the two provinces Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Steelpoort town’s neighbouring towns are Lydenburg, Burgersfort and Ohrigstad.

Supply to Steelpoort Town is from two boreholes constructed in the town. Water is abstracted from the boreholes, disinfected and distributed to Steelpoort households. The Winterveld mine residents water supply is a responsibility of the mine and the water supply source to the mine is unknown. Water supply details to the Mahlokwaneng village is also unknown. Water Resource Availability and Requirements The current water requirement based on the Eskom population was calculated to have a high growth value of 0.057 Million m 3/a for 2010 and a projected high growth value of 0.07 Million m3/a for the year 2030. Surface water is not utilised in Steelpoort for domestic supply. Groundwater from two boreholes in Steelpoort town with a yield of 0.0368 Million m 3/a is used for domestic supply to the Steelpoort residents. Available groundwater was estimated at 0.187 Million m 3/a. Since the water demands in this cluster exceed the current available yield, the estimated available groundwater should be used to overcome the deficits.

Water balance with reconciliation options

The cluster appears to be in deficit based on the current groundwater supply against the current and future water requirement. The current water supply is quoted as 0.0368 Million m3/a and the groundwater estimated at 0.187 Million m3/a, is available for further development. Out of the available 0.187 Million m3/a, 0.034 Million m3/a was used to augment the current supply of 0.0368 Million m3/a.

Water Conservation and Water Demand Management measures must be implemented in order to reduce the losses in the distribution system and to ensure the minimization of wasteful water. It is essential that all abstracted water must be metered and continually

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011 i RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 } monitored in order for the implementation of management measures and the ensured effectiveness thereof.

Augmentation options and/or implementation of WC/WDM requirements

Current level 0 of service

0 20% growth in house connection by 2025

Mm³/annum 0 5% growth in house connection by 0 2015

- 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

Year

Augmentation Measures (Groundwater) Groundwater Supply Estimated Future Requirements (Low growth scenario) Estimated Future Requirements (High growth scenario) WC/WDM Measures (Low growth scenario) WC/WDM Measures (High growth scenario) Confidence level of Information available for the study area The confidence level for the information in this area is low as there are no existing records of actual flows for water provided. The Mahlokwaneng and the Winterveld Mine water supply information are unknown. The current groundwater supply in Steelpoort was supplied by Lepelle Northern Water (Mr F.Shipololo). Priority rating for the development of a detailed reconciliation strategy: This cluster is considered to have a Priority 4(high) rating for the development of a detailed reconciliation strategy. Steelpoort Town is currently in deficits. Water allocations must be registered.

CONCLUSIONS • The present water requirements for the Steelpoort cluster (Steelpoort Town, Mahlokwaneng and Winterveld Mine) was calculated as 0.058 Million m 3/a, using the estimate base population of 2007. This requirement is projected to increase to 0.07 Million m 3/a by year 2030 based on the high growth scenario. • Groundwater use was reported as 0.0368 Million m3/a. • The combined sustainable yield of the production boreholes is insufficient to meet the projected water requirements for the cluster for the current and future supply up to 2030. Groundwater (0.187 Million m 3/a) is available to augment the current and future water supplies. • There is potential to extend groundwater use as an addition source of supply. The level of utilisation, status and scientific evaluation of the existing boreholes needs to be verified. • Based on the consumption analysis, the Steelpoort Scheme is considered to have a Priority 4 (High) rating for the development of a detailed reconciliation strategy as the cluster is currently in deficit. Strategy/Recommendations (i) Existing groundwater needs to be confirmed and the groundwater availability estimates must be considered as indicative only and should be confirmed and verified through a detailed hydro geological study to confirm the sustainability of the aquifer in the long term.

(ii) Groundwater should be expanded ones the sustainability of available groundwater estimates has been completed by upgrading the groundwater infrastructure or identifying additional boreholes to augment the current and future water supply for the cluster.

(iii) Developing, implementing and monitoring of the Water Conservation and Water Demand Management strategy is urgently required.

(iv) Limit wasteful water use in order to control water consumption and utilise available groundwater to its full potential.

(v) Ground water information is sadly lacking in GTLM and the entire Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality and attention should be given immediately to the establishment of a system to monitor quality, tracking and management of groundwater. Boreholes must be properly maintained and monitored

Signature

This is a strategy for the Steelpoort Cluster which includes Steelpoort Town, the nearby residential area for the Winterveld Mine and the Mahlokwaneng village and it has been accepted and signed by Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality, Greater Tubatse Local Municipality, DWA Limpopo Regional Office and the DWA Head Office (D: NWRP) as follows:

Town WMA DM WSA WSDP Status

Steelpoort Olifants Greater Greater Draft Sekhukhune Sekhukhune District DM Municipality

Names:………………………………………. Names:……………………………………….

Signature:…………………………………… Signature:……………………………………

Date:………………………………………… Date:…………………………………………

Position:…………………...... Greater Position:…………………………… [Title and Tubatse LM name] DM

Names:………………………………………. Names:……………………………………….

Signature:…………………………………… Signature:……………………………………

Date:………………………………………… Date:…………………………………………

Position:…………………………………DWA Position:………………………………DWA D: Regional Office National Water Resource Planning

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1.1 Study area ...... 1

1.2 Regional Setting ...... 1

1.3 Economic Drivers ...... 2

1.4 Confidence Level of Information Available for the Study Area ...... 2

2 POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS ...... 4

3 CURRENT WATER REQUIREMENTS ...... 4

3.1 Present Water Requirements and historical water use ...... 4

3.2 Level of services ...... 4

4 WATER REQUIREMENTS PROJECTIONS TILL 2030 ...... 4

4.1 Future water requirements ...... 4

5 WATER REQUIREMENTS PROJECTIONS TILL 2030 ...... 5

5.1 Surface water resources ...... 5

5.1.1 Water allocation/s ...... 6

5.1.2 Other water users from the same source ...... 6

5.1.3 Quality ...... 6

5.2 Groundwater ...... 6

5.2.1 Water allocation/s ...... 7

5.2.2 Quality ...... 7

5.3 Water Re-use ...... 7

6 WATER REQUIREMNTS BALANCE ...... 8

6.2 Priority to develop a water supply reconciliation strategy for the Steelpoort cluster ...... 10

7 WATER SUPPLY INFRASTRUCTURE ...... 10

8 SANITATION ...... 10

8.1 Level of services ...... 10

8.2 Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) ...... 10

8.2.1 Return Flows ...... 11

8.2.2 State of WWTW ...... 11

9 RECONCILIATION OPTIONS ...... 11

9.1 Water Conservation and Water Demand Management WC/WDM...... 11

9.2 Rain water harvesting ...... 11

9.3 Ground water ...... 11

9.4 Re-use ...... 11

9.5 Surface water ...... 11

9.6 Conjunctive Use of Surface and Groundwater ...... 11

9.7 Buy-out of water allocations/rights ...... 12

10 WATER BALANCE WITH RECONCILIATION OPTIONS ...... 12

10.1 Water Balance ...... 12

11 CONCLUSIONS ...... 14

12 STRATEGY/RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 14

13 REFERENCES ...... 15

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1-1: Locality Map of Steelpoort Town Water Supply Scheme ...... 3

Figure 6-1: Future water requirements (Steelpoort Cluster) ...... 9

Figure 10-1: Augmentation options and/or implementation of WC/WDM measures ..... 13

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3-1: Current service levels ...... 4

Table 4-1: Water Requirement projections – Steelpoort Cluster ...... 5

Table 6-1: Current Status and Requirement Projections (Million m 3/a) ...... 8

Table 6-2: Current abstracted, registered and available volume (Million m 3/a) ...... 8

Table 8-1: Current service levels ...... 10

Table 10-1: Future Status with Reconciliation Measures (Million m 3/a) ...... 12

ABBREVIATIONS

AADD Average Annual Daily Demand ALC Active Leakage Control CBD Central Business Districts CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research D: NWRP Directorate: National Water Resource Planning DM District Municipality DMA District Meter Area DWA Department of Water Affairs DPLG Department of Provincial and Local government FC Fibre Cement GSDM Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality GTLM Greater Tubatse Local Municipality IDP Integrated Development Plan IRP Integrated Resource Planning LOS Level of Service LM Local Municipality LPN Lepelle Northern Water MDG Millennium Development Goals Mm 3/a Million cubic meters/ annum NRW Non Revenue Water NSDP National Spatial Development Perspective NGDB National Groundwater Database PRV Pressure Reducing Valve RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme SA South Africa SDI Spatial Development Initiative SDF Spatial Development Framework UFW Unaccounted for Water

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

vii RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 }

WARMS Water Use Registering and Licensing Management System WC/WDM Water Conservation and Water Demand Management WMA Water Management Area WRC Water Research Commission WRSM2005 Water Resources Simulation Model 2005 WSA Water Services Authority WSDP Water Services Development Plan WSNIS Water Services National Information System WSP Water Services Provider WTW Water Treatment Works WWTW Wastewater Treatment Works

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

viii RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 }

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be abstracted

Allocation A water allocation is an authority to take water in areas covered by a resource operations plan

Catchment The land area drained by a river and its tributaries

Demand/ A measure of the need for a portion of the supply of water requirement

Demand Measures available to a Water Service Provider to reduce water demand reduction and improve water use efficiency: for example, water restrictions

Entitlement A water entitlement is the general term used to describe water authorities granted under the Water Act, 1998 . This can be either a water allocation, interim water allocation or a water licence

Non Revenue This is the difference between the volume of water into a system and the Water billed authorised consumption for the area being supply by the system

Reliable yield The quantity of water that can be collected for a given use from a supply source or supply option with a specified degree of certainty and predictability, which is determined through analysis.

Reliability of The probability of providing a specified water entitlement under given supply operating conditions for a specified period of time

Supply The quantity of water available for meeting a demand

Supply option A potential future water resource, defined as any location-specific change to water availability, infrastructure or reliable take that will result in the total available supply being increased.

Water balance The differential of demand and supply baseline.

Yield The average annual volume that can be drawn from a supply source or supply option to meet a specified demand at a specified service level. Yield is always associated with some measure of probability of occurrence, whether that is reliability or probability of achieving a level of service. That is, yield is the volume of water drawn to meet demands in a sustainable sense

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

ix RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 }

1 INTRODUCTION

The Department of Water Affairs have initiated a study for the development of reconciliation strategies for the towns in the Northern Region in order to ensure effective and efficient management of water resources now and into the future.

The study area comprises the water management areas of Limpopo, Luvuvhu and Letaba, Crocodile (West) and Marico, and Olifants and encompasses the Limpopo and portions of Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga provinces.

This report should be read in conjunction with a separate report titled “ Starter document: Methodology followed for the Development of Reconciliation Strategies for the All Town Study – Northern Region ”.

1.1 Study area

This study area includes Steelpoort Town, Winterveld Mine Residential Area and Mahlokwaneng. Lepelle Northern Water supplies Steelpoort town with groundwater from boreholes found in the town. The Winterveld mine and the Mahlokwaneng village are assumed to also be using groundwater from boreholes.

The locality map is presented in Figure 1-1.

1.2 Regional Setting The GTLM is located north of the N4 highway, Middelburg, Belfast and Nelspruit, and east of the N1 highway, Groblersdal and Polokwane. The area of jurisdiction is approximately 4 550 km² in size and is known as the Middelveld as it is located between the Highveld and Lowveld regions. It forms part of the Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Limpopo Province. The district also includes Elias Motsoaledi LM, Greater Marble Hall LM, Greater Makhudutamaga LM and Greater Fetakgomo LM. The area was established after the local government elections of 2000 as an outflow of the municipal demarcation process.

Greater Tubatse Local Municipality is a cross-border municipality with Burgersfort as its seat. It is a category B municipality. Its name “Tubatse” has been derived from the Tubatse River (Steelpoort River). Its border trends from the Olifants River (North of the Strydom Tunnel to 35km South of Lydenburg, from Ohrigstad to Steelpoort Park). The major rivers in the area are Tubatse (Steelpoort) River, Spekboom River, Olifants River and Ohrigstad River. In the bigger towns, purified water is pumped from the rivers but Ohrigstad and the rural areas are dependent for their water from boreholes. Greater Tubatse Local Municipality (Burgersfort) is situated on Road P33/2 and at ± 160 km from Nelspruit,± 160 km from Middelburg, ± 160 km from Polokwane and ± 60 km from Lydenburg. Mining is one of the major sources for employment. Steelpoort is identified as the second order of settlement hierarchy within the Greater Tubatse Local Municipality. Steelpoort comprises more of manufacturing industries and mining related suppliers. There are about six operating mines around the town. Steelpoort town is characterized by a mixed used development; including heavy engineering enterprises; suppliers to the mines; transport facilities; building material suppliers; distributors/ wholesale, medium density housing and small retail component. About sixty per cent of industrial township, i.e. Steelpoort Ext 7 is occupied. Some of the service businesses related to mining

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

1 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 } have even emerged in fringe areas in the former Lebowa i.e. Tukakgomo and Eerste Geluk, Mapodile just south of Steelpoort.

Water supply to this town is from two boreholes with abstraction rate of 7l/s found in the town. Winterveld mine has a private water supply source. The details of this water source including the yield are unknown. This mine and the Mahlokwaneng village are assumed to also be using boreholes for supply.

1.3 Economic Drivers The Limpopo Growth and Development Strategy (LGDS) identifies Steelpoort and Burgersfort as district growth point and provincial growth point respectively. The Limpopo Provincial objective to establish at least one prominent growth point in each municipality can be achieved by focusing economic development in these development nodes. These growth points already have a meaningful economic sector featuring a measure of job creation, as well as various higher-order social facilities such as hospitals and/or health centres.

Burgersfort -Stoffberg Corridor is a secondary corridor that can play a role in the development of mining. This corridor extends from Burgersfort through Steelpoort to Stoffberg about 90 kilometers away. Although there are about three mines located along this corridor to date, it has attracted limited urban development within its sphere of influence, particularly housing development. Only the Ngwabe settlement, is located adjacent to this road. This could possibly be explained by the private rather than communal ownership of property, and dominance of commercial agriculture along the Steelpoort river basin. There are however numerous guesthouses, camping sites and resorts, a nature reserve and Steelpoort urban node. Most development along this route is concentrate around Steelpoort urban node. The potential of this corridor seems to lie on attracting further overnight accommodation establishments, retail outlets providing refreshments to those travelling up and down R555, and cluster/s of retail and service businesses (e.g. food outlets, autobanks, filling stations, tourist information center etc) at appropriate intersections that can serve both local communities and tourists (both leisure and business). It is not expected that the urban development along the length of this route will be continuous but will be dotted like ‘beads on a string’. There is simply not enough development energy extend to all available land, at least in the short term. It is therefore recommended that specific locales along this corridor be identified for urban development in the immediate future.

1.4 Confidence Level of Information Available for the Study Area

The confidence level for the information in this area is low as there are no existing records of actual flows for water provided. The Mahlokwaneng and the Winterveld Mine water supply information are unknown. The available borehole yield in Steelpoort was supplied by Lepelle Northern Water.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

2 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY FOR STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. { 1 }

Figure 1-1: Locality Map of Steelpoort Town Water Supply Scheme

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

3 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

2 POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Population data for the cluster is included below in Table 4.1. Various demographics and geographical spatial information data sources were utilised to obtain population data. The methodology is explained in the separate document, “ Methodology followed for the Development of Reconciliation Strategies for the All Town Study Northern Region ”. Two scenarios have been analysed, one being a high growth, while the other a low growth projection.

Both the low and high growth scenarios for Steelpoort cluster were assessed as having a negative growth potential; here the population is anticipated to increase from the 2007 figure of 1945 to 1777 in 2030. 3 CURRENT WATER REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Present Water Requirements and historical water use The current water requirement based on the Eskom population was calculated to have a high growth value of 0.057 Million m 3/a for 2010 and a projected high growth value of 0.07 Million m3/a for the year 2030.

3.2 Level of services

Level of Hardship (LOH) is used to evaluate the standard of water services provided to the communities based on the RDP criteria. The Greater Sekhukhune IDP, 2008 indicates that Steelpoort town has access piped portable water supplied via house connections. The large portion of Steelpoort Town receives mostly at or above RDP level of water supply.

Table 3-1: Current service levels

Above RDP RDP Below RDP

None/ own Service level House Yard supply supply resources/ connection connection (<200m) (>200m) supply (>500m)

WSNIS, 2007 11 8 18 13 51

The WSNIS level of service data was adopted in calculating the current water requirements as described in section 4.1 below. The LOH for water services is high with 64% of households below minimum RDP water levels of service with reference to the WSNIS, 2007 . 4 WATER REQUIREMENTS PROJECTIONS TILL 2030

4.1 Future water requirements

The future water requirements until 2030 are presented in Table 4-1. The assumptions used for the generation of these calculations are summarised as follows:

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

4 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

• Population projections: The projections are calculated using high growth and low growth population estimates, as indicated in Table 4-1.

• Current level of service (LOS) estimates: The current LOS is estimated as 19% of the population in the cluster supplied above RDP standard and the 64% by boreholes at below RDP standard (WSNIS Data, 2007). It is noted that the borehole use indicated is not registered in the WARMS database.

• Future requirements : For planning purposes, the future requirements are projected using “Scenario 3” i.e. LOS assumed to be at a minimum of a Yard Connection by 2015, with a 5% growth in house connections by 2015 and a further 15% growth in house connections by 2020 (total growth in house connections of 20%). RDP is assumed to increase from 25 l/p/d (current situation) to 40 l/p/d by 2015.

Table 4-1: Water Requirement projections – Steelpoort Cluster

Population figures Population figures Water Water used in the used in the Requirements Requirements Year calculation (Low calculation (High (Low Growth) (High Growth) Growth) Growth) Mm 3/a Mm 3/a

(1) Actual 1,945 1,945 0.058 0.058

2010 1,868 1,877 0.057 0.057

2015 1,786 1,818 0.058 0.059

2020 1,755 1,796 0.065 0.067

2025 1,741 1,782 0.069 0.070

2030 1,736 1,777 0.069 0.070

Note:

(1) Base population is provided for 2007. The water requirements are estimated from 2003 data. 5 WATER REQUIREMENTS PROJECTIONS TILL 2030

5.1 Surface water resources Steelpoort Town relies completely on groundwater for domestic supply. Steelpoort River is the main source of surface water in this area but the water abstracted from the river is used for mining purposes, Industrial and irrigation use.

Steelpoort River is the surface water source in the Middle Steelpoort Basin where the Steelpoort Town is situated. The Steelpoort River is one of the main tributaries of the Olifants River and the Klip, Dwars, Waterval and Spekboom Rivers are tributaries of the Steelpoort River.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

5 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

The Steelpoort River flows north-eastwards through a gorge in the escarpment before joining the middle reaches of the Olifants River. Groundwater inflows from the Chuniespoort dolomites provide an important component of the water in the Steelpoort River.

Two small impoundments of the Dwars River provide water supplies to numerous small towns and settlements in the catchment. Most of the mines and industries as well as several settlements rely either on groundwater supplies via boreholes or direct run-of-river abstractions from the perennial rivers and streams in the Steelpoort catchment. Several small farm dams in the upper reaches of the Steelpoort River and its tributaries trap water for domestic purpose and for limited areas of commercial irrigation along the Steelpoort valley, as well as livestock watering.

Flow patterns in the upper reaches of the Steelpoort River and its tributaries are relatively stable as this rivers drain an area that receives some of the highest rainfalls recorded in South Africa (average rainfalls in the headwater regions of these two rivers exceeds 1100 mm per year). Whilst all the rivers are perennial, flows increase during the summer months when rain is received.

5.1.1 Water allocation/s

A registered surface water (Steelpoort River) use of 1.061 Million m 3/a is recorded on the WARMS database. Another registered water use of 0.183 Million m 3/a is recorded on WARMS for irrigation supply and a very small urban use of 0.000792 Million m 3/a is registered. There is no allocation from surface water sources for this cluster.

5.1.2 Other water users from the same source

Farming plays and mining play a huge role in the Steelpoort area. Industrial water use is also large. Details on mining water supply figures are unavailable.

5.1.3 Quality

A water quality study done in 1995 by DWA on the Middle Steelpoort basin indicated that surface water resources in the Steelpoort basin is being threatened by increasing levels of contaminants from industrial, agricultural, mining and residential sources. The report concluded that surface water is potable with nominal treatment. Surface water was found to be suitable for stock watering. Water quality deteriorates as one move down stream in the catchment and is the worst in the central Steelpoort sub-basin where the majority of the basin’s population lives. . This situation was observed during the 1995 Water Quality study done by DWA.

5.2 Groundwater

Ground Water plays a major role as a water resource for most of the communities in the Greater Sekhukhune District.

The two boreholes located in Steelpoort town are reported to be producing a yield of 7l/s. These two boreholes are used as groundwater source for Steelpoort cluster.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

6 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

The 1:500 000 General Hydro geological map for South Africa published by DWAF (2000), 1:250 000 Geological map series and GRAII data has been used to describe the geology and hydrogeology for the area [8].

A larger portion of the three settlements in this cluster is situated on Mafic/ultra mafic intrusive rocks (dolerite, diabase, diorite, gabbro, dunite, pyroxenite, norite, anorthosite, hornblendite, carbonatite) with a intergranular and fractured yield of 0.5 – 2.0 l/s and a smaller portion of the cluster on the south east is situated on porous unconsolidated and consolidated sedimentary strata with an Intergranular and fractured yield of 2.0 - 5.0 l/ [8].

The borehole information for the area is very limited, with no information on borehole yield, water levels, and water provided. The level of confidence of the groundwater use in the area is therefore low. The available supply to the study area was supplied by Mr Shipololo of Lepelle Northern Water as 0.0368 Million m3/a. No borehole yield could be obtained from the DWA Water Services Boreholes and Grip databases. The groundwater available for augmentation is estimated as 0.187 Million m 3/a for the Steelpoort Scheme. Sustainability of this supply should be metered and monitored to confirm that these volumes are sustainable in the long term. According to the catchment properties and the 40 km 2 surface area of the study area, a UGEP of 0.34 Million m 3/a is available within the Steelpoort Water Supply Scheme

5.2.1 Water allocation/s

A borehole water use of 0.117 Million m 3/a is registered in the WARMS database for industrial use. Lepelle water (Mr Shipoplolo) also reported that the 0.0368 Million m 3/a is the yield of the two boreholes in Steelpoort town supplying the town with domestic water supply.

5.2.2 Quality Water quality from the two boreholes supplying Steelpoort town is monitored by Lepelle Northern Water. It was reported that the water from the boreholes is fit for human consumption. Water is being disinfected before being distributed to the residents. There is no water quality information on both the DWA Water Services and Grip databases.

5.3 Water Re-use There is no water re-use.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

7 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

6 WATER REQUIREMNTS BALANCE

The current and future water balances for the Steelpoort cluster are summarised in Table 6-1 and graphically indicated in Figure 6-1.

The current abstracted and registered volumes and quality of the water provided to the Steelpoort cluster are summarised in Table 6-2, where the information is available.

6.1 Steelpoort cluster

Table 6-1: Current Status and Requirement Projections (Million m 3/a)

Description Source Actual 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Groundwater 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037

Available Supply Surface water 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Total Available Supply 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037

Low Growth 0.058 0.057 0.058 0.065 0.069 0.069 Demand Requirement (no reconciliation options High Growth 0.058 0.057 0.059 0.067 0.070 0.070

Low Growth -0.021 -0.020 -0.021 -0.028 -0.032 -0.032

Surplus/ Shortfall High Growth -0.021 -0.020 -0.022 -0.030 -0.034 -0.033

Table 6-2: Current abstracted, registered and available volume (Million m 3/a)

Description Source Quantity Comment

Surface Water Registered Use (Million m 3/a) Groundwater

Surface Water Actual Abstraction (Million m 3/a) Groundwater 0.0368 Supplied by Lepelle Northern Water

Surface Water Available Yield (Million m 3/a) Groundwater 0.187 Estimate from available information

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

8 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

0.080

0.070

0.060

20% growth in house connection 0.050 by 2025 5% growth in Currentlevel house of service connection by

Mm³/annum 0.040 2015

0.030

0.020

0.010

- 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

Year

Surface Water Supply Groundwater Supply Estimated Future Requirements (Low growth scenario) Estimated Future Requirements (High growth scenario) Linear (Surface Water Supply)

Figure 6-1: Future water requirements (Steelpoort Cluster)

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

9 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

6.2 Priority to develop a water supply reconciliation strategy for the Steelpoort cluster

This cluster is considered to have a Priority 4 (high) rating for the development of a detailed reconciliation strategy. The cluster is currently receiving insufficient groundwater supplies. Water allocations must be registered.

The level of data supporting this estimate can be improved through the validation and confirmation of existing groundwater use. 7 WATER SUPPLY INFRASTRUCTURE

Steelpoort Town is supplied with water abstracted from two boreholes found in the town. The water is disinfected, pumped into two reservoirs and distributed with pipes to households. There are no Water Treatment Plants in Steelpoort. Water from the boreholes is disinfected before distribution to households.

There are two reservoirs storing water from the boreholes. 8 SANITATION The Greater Sekhukhune IDP, 2008 reports that only 8.5 % of households have access to waterborne sewerage systems and they are concentrated in and around Burgersfort, Steelpoort and Ohrigstad. The three towns within Tubatse Municipality are served with potable and waterborne sewer system.

8.1 Level of services

The current level of service is indicated in Table 8-1.

Table 8-1: Current service levels

Above RDP RDP Below RDP

Septic tanks, None, Flush toilet Pit latrine Service level digester, desludger, chemical, (connected to with effluent discharge bucket or pit sewerage ventilation to an oxidation latrine without system) (VIP) pond, etc ventilation

Population (NIS, 2007) 18 2 14 65

The LOH for sanitation services is high with 65% of households below minimum RDP sanitation levels of service with reference to the WSNIS, 2007 . Information in the above table is based on the WSNIS data.

8.2 Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) A package plant with a design capacity of 0.073 Million m 3/a exists in the town. The capacity of the sewer is inadequate and it is currently being upgraded to accommodate an increased accommodation due to housing demand by the mines. Details of the upgraded WWTW are unknown.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

10 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

8.2.1 Return Flows

Currently, no return flows have been reported.

8.2.2 State of WWTW The Steelpoort sewerage plant is in poor state of repair as a result of some of the equipment not functioning as per design specifications. There is a clear overloading of the plant due to chemical toilet and septic tank discharges at the treatment work.

9 RECONCILIATION OPTIONS

9.1 Water Conservation and Water Demand Management WC/WDM The WC/WDM strategy is partly in place for Steelpoort. Presently, cost recovery has been implemented. Details on measures to reduce unaccounted for water, leak and meter repair, public information and consumer education are unknown.

A preliminary analysis of the system to assess the potential for loss reduction through the implementation of WC/WDM could not be carried out as the required information was not available. In the absence of this information, for reconciliation purposes it has been assumed that the WC/WDM will reduce water requirements by 1% per annum from 2010 to 2013 and 2% per annum from 2013 to 2018. This is presented on Figure 6-2.

9.2 Rain water harvesting

There is no significant use of rain water in Steelpoort.

9.3 Ground water

Steelpoort town is currently receiving 0.0368 Million m 3/a from two boreholes located in the town. The exploitable ground water potential in Steelpoort based on the available information is estimated at 0.187 Million m 3/a. This groundwater availability estimate must therefore be considered as indicative only and should be confirmed and verified through a detailed hydro geological study to confirm the sustainability of the aquifer in the long term. Further groundwater abstraction is not advised without detailed metering of abstraction volumes and water levels.

9.4 Re-use

There is currently no water re-use in Steelpoort.

9.5 Surface water

There is currently no surface water used in Steelpoort town.

9.6 Conjunctive Use of Surface and Groundwater

The present water supply from the two boreholes is insufficient to meet the current and future demand. Steelpoort cluster will be augmented with the estimated available groundwater (0.187 Million m 3/a). Surface water from the Steelpoort River should be considered as an option to augment groundwater supply to meet future water demands.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

11 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

9.7 Buy-out of water allocations/rights

Both surface and groundwater are largely used my mining and irrigation sectors in Greater Tubatse LM. Water allocation rights with farmers and mining sector could be negotiated to augment the current and future supply in situations where the available sources fail to meet the demand.

10 WATER BALANCE WITH RECONCILIATION OPTIONS

10.1 Water Balance

Water use allocation and registration is viewed as an important aspect in drawing a water balance and developing reconciliation options. Perspectives are provided with respect to the extent of used and/or unused resources where information is available and is summarised in Table 10-1 and illustrated graphically in Figure 10-1 for the Steelpoort cluster.

Table 10-1: Future Status with Reconciliation Measures (Million m 3/a)

Description Source Actual 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Groundwater 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037 0.037

Available Supply Surface water 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Groundwater 0.034 0.034 0.034 0.034 0.034 0.034

Augmentation Measures Surface water 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Total Available Supply 0.071 0.071 0.071 0.071 0.071 0.071

Low Growth 0.058 0.057 0.058 0.065 0.069 0.069 Demand Requirement (no reconciliation options High Growth 0.058 0.057 0.059 0.067 0.070 0.070

Low Growth 0.000 0.001 0.005 0.008 0.009 0.009 WC/WDM measures (Savings) High Growth 0.000 0.001 0.005 0.009 0.009 0.009

Low Growth 0.013 0.015 0.018 0.014 0.011 0.011

Surplus/ Shortfall High Growth 0.013 0.014 0.017 0.013 0.010 0.010

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

12 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

Current level 0 of service

0 20% growth in house connection by 2025

Mm³/annum 0 5% growth in house connection by 0 2015

- 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2 012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 20 22 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Year

Figure 10-1: Augmentation options and/or implementation of WC/WDM measures

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

13 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

11 CONCLUSIONS • The present water requirements for the Steelpoort cluster (Steelpoort Town, Mahlokwaneng and Winterveld Mine) was calculated as 0.058 Million m 3/a, using the estimate base population of 2007. This requirement is projected to increase to 0.07 Million m 3/a by year 2030 based on the high growth scenario.

• Groundwater use was reported as 0.0368 Million m3/a.

• The combined sustainable yield of the production boreholes is insufficient to meet the projected water requirements for the cluster for the current and future supply up to 2030. Groundwater (0.187 Million m 3/a) is available to augment the current and future water supplies.

• There is potential to extend groundwater use as an addition source of supply. The level of utilisation, status and scientific evaluation of the existing boreholes needs to be verified.

• Based on the consumption analysis, the Steelpoort Scheme is considered to have a Priority 4 (High) rating for the development of a detailed reconciliation strategy as the cluster is currently in deficit.

12 STRATEGY/RECOMMENDATIONS (vi) Existing groundwater needs to be confirmed and the groundwater availability estimates must be considered as indicative only and should be confirmed and verified through a detailed hydro geological study to confirm the sustainability of the aquifer in the long term.

(vii) Groundwater should be expanded ones the sustainability of available groundwater estimates has been completed by upgrading the groundwater infrastructure or identifying additional boreholes to augment the current and future water supply for the cluster.

(viii) Developing, implementing and monitoring of the Water Conservation and Water Demand Management strategy is urgently required.

(ix) Limit wasteful water use in order to control water consumption and utilise available groundwater to its full potential.

(x) Ground water information is sadly lacking in GTLM and the entire Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality and attention should be given immediately to the establishment of a system to monitor quality, tracking and management of groundwater. Boreholes must be properly maintained and monitored

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011

14 RECONCILIATION STRATEGY STEELPOORT CLUSTER REPORT NO. {1}

13 REFERENCES [1] GTLM (2008) Greater Tubatse IDP, 2008

[2] GSDM Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality IDP. 2006/07 -2008/11 (2007)

[3] GSDM Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality Water Master Plan, April 2007 (2007)

[4] GSDM Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality WSDP , 2007-08 (2008)

[5] IWMI International Water Management Institute, Hydro-Institutional Mapping in the Steelpoort River Basin, South Africa

[6] Personal communication, 2009, Lepelle Northern Water (Mr Freddy Shipololo)

[7] Water Department of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWAF). Directorate: Services Water Services Macro Planning & Information Systems, March 2006. (2006) DWAF Water Services Planning Reference Framework. Discussion Document Version 1 . Prepared by GIS Project Solutions and GPM Consultants in association with Mr S Marais, DWAF National Planning and information.

[8] GRA2 Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (2005), Groundwater Resource Assessment Phase 2. Pretoria

[9] 1:250 000 Regional Geological Map Series.

X:\G\Proj 1\Proj\390778_DWAF North\7REPORTS\Strategies\All Strategies_19Dec2011\Limpopo\Greater Sekhukhune DM\Greater Tubatse LM\Steelpoort town.docx April 2011