TREAT WITWATERSRAND ACID WATER AS STATE OF EMERGENCY

Mr. Jaco Mulder, FF Plus MPL and chief spokesperson on Water and Environmental Affairs for the party, has demanded that the government treat the acid water crisis in Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand as a state of emergency.

His comments follow after it came to light during a presentation of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs, that the level of millions of litres of acid mine water which lies under the surface in Johannesburg, is increasing daily and that without any intervention it will spill out onto the surface within 18 months. The acid water, which is the result of 120 years of mine activity on the Witwatersrand holds a direct and serious threat to the inner city of Johannesburg and could have a negative effect on the whole of the Witwatersrand.

"The FF Plus welcomes the fact that the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has started with legal action against mining companies and introduced an action plan. We are however concerned that the true extent of the crisis is much greater as the attention it is being given. Inter-departmental liaison as well as cooperation between local, provincial and national governments has to be increased urgently to prevent a national water disaster," Mulder said. More than R220 million is needed to ensure the erection of pumping stations and pipelines for Johannesburg alone.

Every person, plant and animal is being affected negatively in that streams, rivers and dams have already been polluted.

Statement issued by Jaco Mulder, FF Plus MPL and Spokesperson: Water and Environment, July 23 2010

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