Limpopo farmers fear the establishment of the Medupi power station in Lephalale might have a catastrophic impact on water resources. Glenneis Erasmus takes a look at their concerns.
Ongoing industrial development in Limpopo’s coal-rich Lephalale region and other farming districts along the Mogol River might take what little water is available for agriculture, fears Attie Snyman from TAU SA North. Water resources in the area are already under pressure.
Snyman said while the agricultural industry’s been assured there’s no intention to take water from the sector, building of the power station has already started and it will need water within the next two years.
He’s concerned about the lack of action the Department of Water Affairs (DWAF) has taken to prepare for this need. But DWAF said it’s planning to revert water from Gauteng via the Crocodile river system and later perhaps also the Vaal River.
Snyman warns that even with infrastructure in place, the Crocodile River is volatile. He pointed out that it’s stopped flowing more than eight times over the past 30 years.
He fears that government will revert farm water to the energy project whenever there are supply problems, adding that no provision has been made for additional water for agricultural expansions.
Francois van den Berg from Agri Lephalale points out that farmers receive around 16 x 106m³ per year with the understanding that they receive less if the Mokolo Dam is only half-full. Government has said that there’s a surplus of around 29 x 106m³ of water per year, but information gathered over the years doesn’t support this claim.
The power station and mining expansions would increase the water demand of the area to 230 x 106³ per year, which is seven times more than the amount of water currently supplied to the region via the dam and irrigation scheme.
Van den Berg said DWAF is planning to take farmers’ water for a year and then to compensate farmers for it. “But farmers can’t ‘switch off’ their farms for a year – that would be catastrophic. We’re therefore in the process of negotiating a better solution. The key is to manage the situation.”
Danger to the environment
The impact of acid rain on the environment due to emissions from the coal power stations is another concern. Van den Berg pointed out that the construction of the power station has been terribly rushed due to the energy crisis.
“We understand this, as we farmers are also negatively affected by the energy crisis. The problem is, however, that all the environmental impact studies have not yet been completed.”
Snyman fears the whole bushveld, which is an ecologically sensitive area, will be severely polluted. The region is also not ready in terms of infrastructure, housing and sanitation for such a high influx of new people.
Bennie van Zyl, general manager of TAU SA, pointed out that acid rain will have a terrible impact on water resources. He feels government must form a task team to address water quality and access to water in South Africa – failure to do so will be disastrous.
Van den Berg acknowledged that Lephalale will never be the same again, but he admitted that these new developments do have more positives than negatives.
“We don’t want to stand in the way of industrial development as it’ll help create jobs in our region and reduce crime. In addition, we know that
more energy is needed for development,” he said.
