Groundwater monitoring
2007-03-22
THE Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning is planning a pilot project to drill for water in the Boland mountains at Wemmershoek and Grabouw.
The City of Cape Town is to undertake exploratory borehole drilling this year to establish the feasibility of developing groundwater to augment the bulk water supply.
No more than 20 boreholes will be drilled in total and no water will be abstracted for bulk supply from the boreholes.
One of the areas for drilling is located at Zachariashoek near the Wemmershoek Dam.
A regional groundwater monitoring network is now being established in Wemmershoek to establish the current groundwater conditions, before any further development of groundwater occurs in these areas.
DWAF has appointed a consortium comprising Geohydrological and Spatial Solutions International (GEOSS), the Council for Geoscience (CGS) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to establish a groundwater monitoring network around the planned test site at Zachariashoek near the Wemmershoek Dam.
The project entails gathering relevant existing data, design of a regional groundwater monitoring network, drilling of dedicated monitoring boreholes and development of a regional monitoring programme.
Monitoring boreholes will enable the Department to evaluate the current status of the groundwater resource and to monitor the potential impact of further developments on the regional aquifer system.
The impact of groundwater abstraction on groundwater discharges to vulnerable springs, wetlands and terrestrial ecosystems will be included.
The City will consider developing a pilot wellfield depending on results of the exploratory drilling and the Environmental Impact Assessment.
Farm visits to establish groundwater use within these areas have already commenced. In addition boreholes in the area will be documented and possibly selected as monitoring boreholes.
Wherever possible groundwater levels need to be measured prior to and during the commencement of the feasibility testing, which may extend over a number of years.
DWAF also plans to provide groundwater users with guidance on how to monitor their own groundwater levels and water quality.
For enquiries contact Julian Conrad of GEOSS (tel 021-880-1079 or julian@geoss.co.za) or Mike Smart of DWAF (tel 021-950-7109 or Smart M@dwaf.gov.za).
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