Pretoria - The suspected gas explosion that ripped through parts of Johannesburg’s CBD last week, as well as the earthquakes and tremors that continue to trouble citizens, have reignited an old debate about our golden city’s mining history.
For decades, it had been feared that Joburg was being eaten away by acidic water from the mines, which had reached their storage limit and were leaking a toxic cocktail of chemicals.
If left unchecked, acidic mine water was expected to flood basements and seep into the streets.
The water, once several hundred metres underground, was rising at an average rate of 15m a month. In the central basin over which Johannesburg was situated, the water level was rising by 59cm daily in July 2009. By mid-2010 the water level was about 500m below the surface, with predictions that by March 2013, it would reach the surface.
A Wits University report stated that a catastrophe could be avoided by immediately setting up two pump and treatment stations to keep the water to at least 300m below the surface.
At one stage, the City of Joburg said it had set up a task team, comprising experts and engineers, to conduct a “full, city-wide investigation” into the risks of acid mine drainage.
The Department of Water Affairs also said at the time that it had budgeted R225 million for the management of acid mine drainage.
As tremors continue to haunt the city and surroundings, and now coupled with the devastating explosion, the government owes us an explanation.
Those who live, work and play in Joburg deserve to know whether or not it is a matter of time before the city bursts open, or is swallowed by the earth.
Pretoria News