It is twelve months since the disastrous tailings dam collapse in the small town of Jagersfontein, in the Kopanong Local Municipality in the Free State. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has taken a multi-faced approach - to hold those responsible accountable, to rehabilitate polluted water resources, and to restore water and sanitation services in the area, as well as to prevent similar tragedies from happening elsewhere in the country.
On 4 November 2022, the Department opened a criminal case against the Jagersfontein Development (JD) mining company, in terms of Section 151 of the National Water Act (NWA) of 1998, pertaining to the release of a substance (slimes/mine process waste materials) that pollutes or has the potential to pollute water resources. This was in response to the collapse of the Jagersfontein Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) on 11 September 2022, which resulted in tragic loss of life, left scores of people homeless, and pollution of the environment and water resources.
Processes to finalise evidence gathering and collecting scientific and engineering information on the case have been concluded, and the department will now be issuing a warning statement to the alleged transgressor before the file is handed to National Prosecution Authority (NPA).
DWS has also issued numerous directives to Jagersfontein Development (JD) and instructed the mine to appoint an Approved Professional Person (APP) to oversee the immediate emptying of the remaining compartment-2 of the TSF which still contains a significant volume of tailings, to avoid a secondary disaster from occurring. In addition, the appointed APP will assist JD in the decommissioning of the entire tailings dam.
As part of the department’s instruction, the APP had to conduct a Dam Breach Analysis to ascertain the level of risk that would be experienced should the remaining Compartment 2 fail, and a report detailing the level of risk that still existed was submitted to the department. The process of decanting this compartment 2, which started in August 2023, is currently underway. Until this decanting process has been completed, the tailings dam is still regarded as unsafe.
Furthermore, the department has appointed the Universities of Pretoria and the Witwatersrand to investigate the causes of the failure of the Jagersfontein TSF. This is to assist the department to ensure that similar occurrences are prevented in future, and to improve its regulation of tailing dam safety. This is a very complex technical matter, and the investigation is expected to be concluded by the end of March 2024.
In order to ensure that all such structures in the country are regulated, in April 2023 DWS called on all mining houses across the country to come forward and register tailings dams that meet the requirements to be classified as dams with a safety risk. These are dams that have a wall height exceeding 5 m and that are able to store 50 000 m3 of liquid. The department intends to gazette a notice to enable it to compel those mining houses that are reluctant to comply and register and to institute enforcement actions against those which do not heed the notice. DWS is working with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) as well as using satellite technology to identify possible non-complying tailings storage facilities.
DWS issued a directive to JD to instruct the company to rehabilitate and restore the watercourses that were affected by the slimes due to the dam failure. These include the Wolwas dam, Kromellenboog River, Proses Spruit, Riet River and the Kalkfontein Dam. This work which is ongoing consists of the following:
- To contain currently deposited slimes by the placement of structures such as retaining walls, weirs, rock packs and silt fences;
- Removal of sludge from preferential flow paths and dams;
- Removal of sludge from slopes, banks and adjacent landscapes or apply bioremediation.
The department is also monitoring the impact on the quality of surface and groundwater sources as a result of the incident, by assessing monthly water quality results submitted by JD as per the department’s directive. The department can confirm progress on the clearing of residue in the water courses and improving test results in terms of water quality.
The department is working with the Kopanong Local Municipality to restore water and sanitation services and is providing support through its Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG) to address water and sanitation challenges in the municipality. (This financial year the department has allocated R2 million form the RBIG and R16.8 million from the WSIG to the municipality.) Through the RBIG, the Jagersfontein Water Treatment Works that supplies potable water for the community in the area has been upgraded from two megalitres a day (Ml/d) to four Ml/d in order to meet the demand. Through support from the JD mine, Jagersfontein Waste Water Treatment Works has also been refurbished.
Jagersfontein water and sanitation services interventions forms part of the Xhariep District Five Year Reliable Water Services Master Plan which includes a turnaround strategy for Kopanong municipality. The strategy seeks to bring a much-needed permanent solution for the water and sanitation challenges experienced in the municipality which includes upgrading of the wastewater treatment plant, building a reclamation dam and installation of water meters to improve revenue collection.
For more information, contact:
Ms Wisane Mavasa
Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation
Cell: 060 561 8935
E-mail: mavasaw@dws.gov.za
