Acid mine drainage (AMD) has generated an enormous amount of media interest and public concern in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR) over the last decade. However, it has been framed as a narrow technical concern, with government action being directed towards securing the necessary engineering and processing solutions as quickly as possible to prevent decant and treat acid mine water to industrial standards. This has arguably limited the scope for full discussion and debate on the impacts of AMD, particularly for the environment, and this bears implications for how AMD has been managed in the GCR. Government’s immediate, short and long term interventions to address AMD have been set out as a straight forward solution, but over time more complex environmental concerns have emerged. Becoming more evident over the last few years is that one of the main impacts of AMD will be its effect on the overall water security in the Vaal River System (VRS) on which the GCR relies for its supply of potable water. Limits on water abstraction from the VRS, together with the increasing need to maintain the overall water quality in the system through dilution and treatment activities, means that AMD is beginning to manifest as a binding constraint on economic development and a burden on society – in particular via escalating costs for water consumers. Fiscal constraints are likely to see GCR residents and businesses pick up more and more of the costs associated with the treatment of AMD, through the format of increased municipal tariffs. With final decisions on municipal tariffs now pending, the broader yet invisible impacts of AMD loom large. This means that the debate has moved far beyond the issue of predicted decant in each of the Witwatersrand’s mining basins. Water security for the GCR, and who will carry the costs associated with the long-term treatment of AMD, have instead taken centre stage. This paper carefully updates the historical record on AMD since the publishing of a GCRO Provocation on the issue in 2010. In doing so, it argues that the way in which AMD has been governed raises a flag around how the political economy of an issue such as AMD should be understood, publicly debated and managed. In particular, it suggests that the governance of an environmental challenge such as AMD is not only about finding a technical solution. The lack of platforms to ensure well-informed public deliberation, especially over such issues as who will pay and how, must be addressed to ensure more equitable and transparent decision-making. In light of the broader mine waste legacy inherited by the GCR, and the strong likelihood of environmental contamination becoming more commonplace in the future, these concerns are not only limited to AMD. They will only grow in importance over time.

This SpringerBrief focuses on Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the three basins in the Witwatersrand, South Africa. It provides a background to AMD and its impactsfrom a social science perspective.The South African government and non-governmental organizations’ response to AMD is assessed, as well the socio-economic and developmental effects of AMD. This volume, which is based on the author’s Master’s dissertation at UNISA, involves interviews with a range of experts in the field from government departments, environmental organisations (activists), the private sector (mining), tourism sector and the agricultural sector. The book discusses existing policy documents on AMD and provides recommendations in response to the many socio-economic impacts which have not been fully addressed. A literature review on the global context of AMD is provided. South Africa’s water systems are already severely harmed by climate change, different forms of pollution, and poorly managed sanitation systems. For these reasons, the country is becoming increasingly water-stressed and therefore, water will continue to become much scarcer in the future. As a result of AMD’s continued impact on South Africa’s water systems, as a technical or scientific matter as well as the policy implications for the mining sector, water security and socio-economic sustainability has become a highly contested issue.

South Africa is facing the increasing challenge of acid mine drainage (AMD) whose genesis is the country’s mining history, which paid limited attention to post-mining mine site management. In mineral resource-rich Africa, this has emerged as one of the most daunting challenges of our time. South Africa has been bold in its approach to mitigating this problem, although the challenge is multi-faceted. On a positive note, substantial research has been conducted to confront the challenge. However, thus far, the research has been largely fragmented. This book builds on the work that has been done, but also provides a refreshing multi-disciplinary approach that is useful in addressing the AMD challenges that South Africa and the continent face. Whilst addressing the problem as a scientific and engineering challenge, the book also exposes the economic, policy and legal challenges involved in addressing the problem. The book concludes, quite uniquely, that AMD is an opportunity that can be used by South Africa and Africa to solve problems, such as acute water shortage, as well as mineral recovery operations.

This book details how the water quality of the Blesbokspruit River in Gauteng, South Africa was socially constructed by stakeholders and key individuals in the context of acid mine drainage (AMD) and its treatment. Social constructionism is used as the framing for this research to explain how water is intrinsically social. Findings presented here show that stakeholders are aware that the changes in the physicality of the Blesbokspruit resulted from human interventions and varied uses of the water over the years. Such knowledge, among factors such as the historical context of mining, current coal mining, flows and volumes of water, technology used and processes followed, information and communication, and vested interests influence social constructions of the water quality. What counts as the truth about water varies depending on the individual’s perspective, their purpose, and their individual interests. Further, how one defines water quality influences what treatment processes are preferred in order to improve water quality. The book explains why, for example, a treatment process meant to improve water quality gained a bad reputation by the public because of the South African government’s silo approach. The book explains how these social constructions are entrenched in power relations between stakeholders regarding AMD treatment and illustrates how power was used to influence decisions to improve the water quality of the Blesbokspruit. The case presented in this book offers insights and recommendations for policymakers working in water governance, including means to influence social constructions of water quality and ways to clarify roles and responsibilities in pursuit of improved cooperative government.

The book provides a critical evaluation of South Africa’s freshwater resources to illustrate the way in which its freshwater resources, water access, services and infrastructure have continued to decline over the past three decades. The continued decline of water governance, management, water service delivery, dilapidated water infrastructure, dysfunctional local governments and overall excessive water degradation is illustrated and emphasized using real-life examples and case studies from various contexts within the country. The main argument of the book is that South Africa’s freshwater resources have declined to such an extent that it can be described as a predicament. Questionable water governance decisions and reactive water management practices have led to no improvement and/or increased degradation of freshwater resources. An overall lack of service delivery exists across the country, in various contexts, leading to further water and social decline. An inter-disciplinary evaluation of South Africa’s current water predicament is provided, major water crises are prioritized, and suitable recommendations are given to transform its predicament into problems which can be addressed. Suitable background information is given to emphasize the necessity of good water governance, management, and service delivery. South Africa’s freshwater resources are evaluated with specific focus on the decline of informed water governance, management, service delivery and water quality. Factors requiring urgent attention are determined and suitable recommendations and/or actions are provided. An evaluation and overall synthesis focused on the transformation of the predicament into problems is provided. Primary water problems are prioritized according to urgency and suitable recommendations are given to assist in transforming the country’s current complex water predicament into “simpler” water problems. Political will, collaboration with researchers, stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, and cooperation of civil society is required. South Africa’s already scarce freshwater resources and decaying infrastructure will persist and possibly collapse if no major actions or interventions are implemented.