published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Includes bibliographical references (leaves [268]-285) / xiv, 285, [85] leaves : ill. (some folded), maps (col., folded) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2002

Ballast water discharged from ships is considered to be one of the four biggest threats to oceans, as alien species, detrimental to the marine ecosystems, are introduced into domestic waters via ballast. Nevertheless, eight years after its adoption, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments of 2004 remains unenforced. In the interim, the IMO has encouraged member countries to implement national ballast water policies in order to reduce the risk of alien invasions into their waters. South Africa was chosen as one of six countries in the world to participate as a pilot country for the GloBallast programme which was conducted in Saldanha Bay between 2000 and 2004. The purpose of the GloBallast programme was to assist developing countries to understand, develop and implement control measures relating to ships ballast water within their ports. The outcome of the risk assessment completed during the programme was that South Africa needed to implement a mandatory ballast water reporting system. The purpose of this study is to examine the status of ballast water management in the ports of South Africa and to determine the progress made since South Africa participated in the GloBallast programme. The methodology used in this study included questionnaires distributed to industry experts and the full population of Ships Agents that are members of the South African Association of Ship Operations and Agents. The findings show that whilst each port is reported to have a ballast water management plan; only three of the eight potential plans could be produced. Two of these plans, belonging to the ecosensitive ports of Ngqura and Saldanha Bay, were proven to be well-known amongst the agents. The other ports, however, reflected a weak 50% and lower level of awareness. It was further determined that the ships agents are largely unaware of the responsibilities placed upon them by these plans. The findings further revealed that these regulations have not been monitored or enforced and presently ballast water management would appear to be merely a paper exercise. Those ships agents who are aware and comply with the requirements report that they have never had a problem with obtaining approval to discharge ballast. Recent developments in July 2012 show that the Department of Transport has assembled a team to further develop legislation and regulations to address ballast water management in South Africa. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves [268]-285) / xiv, 285, [85] leaves : ill. (some folded), maps (col., folded) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2002

South Africa, strategically situated at the southern tip of Africa, is edged on three sides by almost 3000 km of coastline surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean (South African Tourism, 2011). This vast ocean expanse is responsible for conveying approximately 96% of South Africa’s exports (Brand South Africa, 2011). Despite the positive economic effects of the shipping industry, translocation of harmful organisms and pathogens via ballast water and sediments inside ballast water tanks has far reaching global environmental (and economic) impacts (Oliviera, 2008:1; David and Gollasch, 2008:1966). Ballast water is the water that is taken on in order to manage the draft of the ship, to help with propulsion, manoeuvrability, trim control, list and stability (Oliviera, 2008:2). The discharge of ballast water into the world’s oceans has resulted in the transfer of ecologically harmful sea-life into non-native environments (IMO, 2011), resulting in major environmental threats to our oceans (Bax, Williamson, Aguero, Gonzalez and Geeves, 2003:313). Various international documents have been developed to deal with the ballast water issue, culminating in the introduction of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (“the Convention”) in 2004. The Convention aims at achieving a reduction in the transfer and subsequent impacts of aquatic organisms via the ballast water and sediment of ships. On a local level, South Africa does not have direct legislation or regulations dealing with ballast water (Duncan, 2007:34) and relies on the combination of a number of pieces of legislation relating to environmental management, coastal management, biodiversity, alien invasive species control, port control and ship safety (National Environmental Management Act, 1998, National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004, National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2009, National Ports Act, 2005 and Merchant Shipping Act, 1951). Although the Convention was ratified by South Africa in 2008 (Department of International Relations and Cooperation, 2011) it is still not in force and there still exists no other consolidated legal mechanism through which ballast water is managed. This research has investigated the various roles, responsibilities and mandates of South African competent authorities under the aforementioned legislation in managing ballast water, and has determined that there is definite legislative and institutional fragmentation as well as overlaps. A comparative analysis of management frameworks developed both locally and internationally was conducted in order to develop a management framework for ballast water management in South Africa. Various legislative, institutional and functional aspects were identified and adapted for inclusion in a South African management framework. A co-ordinated approach to ballast water management has been developed in the management framework which is anticipated to result in more definitive roles and responsibilities of the various South African departments involved in the management of ballast water and implementation of the Convention.

This study’s main goal was to evaluate Bacillus subtilis inoculation and mine water irrigation effect on germination, growth, nodulation, physiology and shoot/grain quality of cowpea genotypes exposed to extreme climatic conditions (elevated temperatures). The first experiment evaluated the interactive effect of Bacillus subtilis (BD233) inoculation and elevated temperature on germination indices and plumule lengths of three genotypes (Asetanapa, Soronko and Nyira) of cowpea. The results showed that interaction between B. subtilis (BD233) and temperature significantly (p<0.05) influenced the germination indices (germination percentage (G%), germination index (GI) and germination rate index (GRI)) and plumule length of cowpea seedlings and genotype responses were significantly different. At elevated temperature (35oC), inoculation with B. subtilis (BD233) enhanced seed germination and growth of cowpea. The second experiment evaluated the effect of temperature on growth and nutritional content of cowpea incubated for seven days in a growth chamber. The results showed that when cowpea genotype, Soronko, was incubated at different temperature regimes, the whole plant biomass, shoot carbon and crude protein contents were significantly affected with temperature increases at all three stages of the plants’ life cycle. The results suggest that the pre-flowering (40 DAP) and flowering (90 DAP) stages of cowpea compared to post-flowering (123 DAP) are more susceptible to elevated temperatures (30-35oC). The third experiment evaluated Bacillus subtilis inoculation and mine water irrigation effect on growth, nodulation, physiology and nutritional content of cowpea under glasshouse conditions. The results revealed that the interaction of B. subtilis (BD233) inoculation and mine water (75% AMD) irrigation was significant for the growth, nodulation, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll contents and shoot/grain nutritional quality of cowpea genotypes. In comparison with control, generally, B. subtilis inoculation enhanced the growth, nodulation and yield of all tested cowpea genotypes and irrigation with mine water significantly influenced the mineral contents in both shoot and grain of cowpea. Taken together, findings in this study have implications for cultivation of cowpea, an important candidate for food/nutrition security in Africa, under future climate change scenarios. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Sciences)

The mining industry produces vast quantities of overburden and mill tailings. In many instances the disposal of these wastes on the Earth's surface have caused local, and occasionally even regional, water resources to become contaminated. Contamination typically arises from the oxidation of metal sulfide minerals contained within these wastes. Upon oxidation these minerals release sulfate, their associated metal cations and acidity into solution. This study investigated the potential for groundwater contamination arising from a Pb/Zn tailings impoundment in the North West Province of South Africa (Pering Mine). The tailings is composed predominantly of dolomite, which imparts to the material an alkaline pH and a high acid buffering capacity. Acid-base accounting (ABA) established that the capacity of the tailings to buffer acidity surpasses any acid producing potential that could arise from pyrite (FeS2), galena (PbS) and sphalerite (ZnS) oxidation. These minerals account for about 3 to 6% of the tailings by mass. Total elemental analysis (XRF) showed that the material has high total concentrations of Fe (19083 mg kg-I), Zn (5481 mg kg-I), Pb (398 mg kg-I), S (15400 mg kg-I), Al (9152 mg kg-I) and Mn (29102 mg kg-I). Only a very small fraction of this, however, was soluble under saturated conditions. An estimation of potentially available concentrations, using the DTPA extraction method, indicated that high concentrations of Zn (1056 mg kg-I), and moderate concentrations of Pb (27.3 mg kg-I) and Cu (6.01 mg kg-I) could potentially be available to cause contamination. A number of leaching experiments were undertaken to accurately quantify the release of elements from the tailings material. These experiments were aimed at determining the potential for groundwater contamination and also provided a means whereby the long-term release of contaminants could be modelled using the convection-dispersion equation for solute transport. Four leaching treatments were investigated. Two consisted of using distilled water under intermittent and continuous flow, while a third used intermittent flow of deoxygenated distilled water to assess leaching under conditions of reduced oxygen. The.mobilisation of potential contaminants under a worst case scenario was assessed by means of leaching with an acetic acid solution at pH 2.88 (after the US Environmental Protection Agency's toxicity characteristic leaching procedure). The acid buffering potential of the tailings was considerable. Even after 8 months of weekly leaching with 1 pore volume of acetic acid solution the pH of the effluent was maintained above pH 5.90. The protracted acidity caused very high concentrations of Pb, Zn, Mu, Ca, Mg, Hg and S to be released into solution. Leaching the tailings with distilled water also caused the effluent to have noticeable traces of contamination, most importantly from S, Mg, Mu and Zn. In many instances concentrations significantly exceeded guideline values for South African drinking water. Modelling solute transport with the convectiondispersion equation predicted that sol- and Mu contamination could persist for a very long period of time. (±700 years under continuous saturated leaching), while Mg and Zn concentrations would most likely exceed recommended limits for a much shorter period of time (±300 years under the same conditions). In light of the various column leaching experiments it was concluded that seepage from the Pering tailings impoundment could cause groundwater contamination. A drill-rig and coring system were used to collect both tailings and pore-water samples from eight boreholes spread out across the tailings impoundment. These investigations showed that most of the impoundment was aerobic (Eh ranged from +323 to +454 mY) and alkaline (pH 8.0 to 9.5). This chemical environment favours sulfide oxidation and as a consequence high concentrations of S have been released into the pore-water of the impoundment (S concentrations ranged from 211 to 1221 mg r l ). The acidity released as a by-product of sulfide oxidation was being buffered by dolomite dissolution, which in turn was releasing high concentrations of Mg (175 to 917 mg r l ) and Ca (62.6 to 247 mg r l ) into solution. Metal concentrations in the pore-water were low as a result of the strong metal sorbing capacity of the tailings and possible secondary precipitation. The only metal which significantly exceeded recommended limits throughout the impoundment was Hg (concentrations were between 100 and 6000 times the recommended limit of 0.001 mg r l ). Under the current geochemical conditions it is expected that Hg, S and Mg will likely pose the greatest threat to groundwater. The main concerns associated with mine tailings are that of mine drainage and dust blow off..In order to eradicate the latter problem, the tailings impoundment at Pering Mine was covered with a layer of rocks. Modelling the water balance of the impoundment using the computer model HYDRUS-2D showed that the rock cladding has potentially increased the volume of drainage water seeping from the impoundment. In light of the leaching experiments and field work, which proved that water passing through the tailings became enriched with various potentially toxic elements, it is expected that the problem of groundwater contamination around Pering Mine has been further exacerbated by the rock cladding. It was therefore concluded that there would be a strong likelihood of groundwater contamination in the vicinity of the mine. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The generation of large quantities of mine wastewater in South African coal mines and the needs for a cost effective, as well as an environmentally sustainable manner of mine water disposal, have fostered interests in the possibility of utilizing mine water for irrigation. Such a possibility will not only provide a cost-effective method of minimizing excess mine drainage, as treatment using physical, chemical and biological methods can be prohibitively expensive, but will also stabilize the dry-land crop production by enhancing dry season farming. Considering the arid to semi-arid climate of South Africa, the utilization of mine water for irrigation will also boost the beneficial exploitation of the available water resources and relieve the increasing pressure on, and the competition for, dwindling amounts of good quality water by the various sectors of the economy. The disposal of excess gypsiferous mine water through irrigation has been researched in a few collieries in the Witbank area. In this study, the assessment of the impacts of using gypsiferous mine water for irrigation were carried out in parts of the Upper Olifants basin upstream of Witbank Dam, using the ACRU2000 model and its salinity module known as ACRUSalinity. The study area was chosen on the bases of locations of previous field trials and the availability of mine water for large-scale irrigation. The primary objectives of the study were the development of relevant modules in ACRU2000 and ACRUSalinity to enable appropriate modelling and assessment of the impact of large-scale irrigation with mine water and the application of the modified models to the chosen study area. The methodology of the study included the modifications of ACRU2000 and ACRUSalinity and their application at three scales of study, viz. centre pivot, catchment and mine scales. The soils, hydrologic and salt distribution response units obtained from the centre pivot scale study were employed as inputs into the catchment scale study. The soils, hydrologic and salt distribution response units obtained from the catchment assessment were in turn applied in similar land segments identified in the mine used for the mine scale study. The modifications carried out included the incorporation of underground reservoirs as representations of underground mine-out areas, multiple water and associated salt load transfers into and out of a surface reservoir, seepages from groundwater into opencast pits, precipitation of salts in irrigated and non-irrigated areas and the incorporation of a soil surface layer into ACRUSalinity to account for the dissolution of salts during rainfall events. Two sites were chosen for the centre pivot scale study. The two sites (Syferfontein pivot of 21 ha, located in Syferfontein Colliery on virgin soils; Tweefontein pivot of 20 ha, located in Kleinkopje Colliery on rehabilitated soils) were equipped with centre pivots (which irrigated agricultural crops with mine water), as well as with rainfall, irrigation water and soil water monitoring equipment. The pivots were contoured and waterways constructed so that the runoff could leave the pivots over a weir (at Tweefontein pivot) or flume (at Syferfontein pivot) where the automatic monitoring of the quantity and quality of runoff were carried out. The runoff quantities and qualities from the pivots were used for verification of the modified ACRU2000 and ACRUSalinity. The catchment scale study was on the Tweefontein Pan catchment, which was a virgin area mainly within the Kleinkopje Colliery, draining into the Tweefontein Pan. The data on the water storage and qualities in Tweefontein Pan, as well as the soil water salinities in the irrigated area located within the catchment were used for verification of results. In the catchment scale study, different scenarios, including widespread irrigation on virgin and rehabilitated soils, were simulated and evaluated. For the mine scale study, the Kleinkopje Colliery was used. The colliery was delineated into 29 land segment areas and categorized into seven land use types, on the basis of the vegetation and land uses identified in different parts of colliery. The centre pivot and catchment scale studies indicated that the impacts of irrigation with low quality mine water on the water resources are dependent on the soil types, climate, the characteristics and the amount of the irrigation mine water applied, whether irrigation was on virgin on rehabilitated soils and the status of the mine in terms of whether a regional water table has been re-established in an opencast mining system or not. The studies further indicated that the irrigation of agricultural crops with low quality mine water may lead to increases in soil water salinity and drainage to groundwater, but that the mine water use for irrigation iii purposes can be successfully carried out as most of the water input onto the irrigated area will be lost through total evaporation and a significant proportion of the salt input, both from rainfall and irrigation water, will either be precipitated in the soil horizons or dissolved in the soil water of the soil horizons. By irrigating with a saline mine water therefore, the salts associated with the low quality mine water can be removed from the water system, thereby reducing the possibility of off-site salt export and environmental pollution. On-site salt precipitation, however, may lead to accumulation of salts in the soil horizons and consequent restriction of crop yields. Therefore, efficient cropping practices, such as leaching and selection of tolerant crops to the expected soil salinity, may be required in order to avoid the impact of long-term salinity build up and loss of crop yields. The simulated mean annual runoff and salt load contribution to Witbank Dam from the Kleinkopje Colliery were 2.0 x 103 MI and 392 tons respectively. The mean annual runoff and salt load represented 2.7% and 1.4% of the average water and salt load storage in Witbank Dam respectively. About 45% of the total water inflow and 65% of the total salt load contribution from the study area into Witbank Dam resulted from groundwater storage. From the scenario simulations, the least salt export would occur when widespread irrigation is carried out in rehabilitated areas prior to the re-establishment of the water table due to a lower runoff and runoff salt load. It may therefore be a better water management strategy in active collieries if irrigation with mine water is carried out on rehabilitated soils. In conclusion, this research work has shown that successful irrigation of some (salt tolerance) crops with low quality mine water can be done, although increases in the soil water salinity of the irrigated area, runoff from the irrigated area and drainage to the groundwater store can occur. Through the modifications carried out in the ACRU2000 model and the ACRUSalinity module in this research work, a tool has been developed, not only for application in the integrated assessment of impact of irrigation with mine water on water resources, but also for the integrated assessment and management of water resources in coal-mining environments in South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

The hydrometallurgical refining of platinum group metals results in large volumes of liquid waste that requires suitable treatment before any disposal can be contemplated. The wastewater streams are characterized by extremes of pH, high inorganic ion content (such as chloride), significant residual metal loads and small amounts of entrained organic compounds. Historically these effluents were housed in evaporation reservoirs, however lack of space and growing water demands have led Anglo Platinum to consider treatment of these effluents. The aim of this study was to investigate whether biological wastewater treatment could produce water suitable for onsite reuse. Bench-scale activated sludge and anaerobic digestion for co-treatment of an acidic refinery waste stream with domestic wastewater were used to give preliminary data. Activated sludge showed better water treatment at lab scale in terms of removal efficiencies of ammonia (approximately 25%, cf. 20% in anaerobic digestion) and COD (70% cf. 43% in digestion) and greater robustness when biomass health was compared. Activated sludge was consequently selected for a pilot plant trial. The pilot plant was operated on-site and performed comparably with the bench-scale system, however challenges in the clarifier design led to losses of biomass and poor effluent quality (suspended solids washout). The pilot plant was unable to alter the pH of the feed, but a two week maturation period resulted in the pH increasing from 5.3 to 7.0. Tests on algal treatment as an alternative or follow-on unit operation to activated sludge showed it not to be a viable process. The activated sludge effluent was assessed for onsite reuse in flotation and it was found that there was no significant difference between its flotation performance and that of the process water currently used, indicating the effluent generated by the biological treatment system can be used successfully for flotation. Flotation is the method whereby minerals refining operations recover minerals of interest from ore through the addition of chemicals and aeration of the ore slurry. Target minerals adhere to the bubbles and can be removed from the process.