The Vaal Triangle is renowned for its highly industrialised activities. With the addition of domestic fuel burning, vehicle exhaust, mining and agricultural activities, the Vaal Airshed has become highly polluted. The concerns of the elevated concentrations in the area were raised by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) when the Vaal Region was declared the first priority area on 21 April 2006. The basis for this declaration includes: areas that exceed or may exceed air quality standards, areas associated with significant air quality impacts and areas requiring specific air quality management actions to rectify the situation. The purpose of this study is to determine the Status Quo of the Vaal Airshed. The emissions inventory for the study area includes industrial operations, mining activities, domestic fuel burning and vehicle tailpipe emissions along major national and regional routes. Priority pollutants (i.e. sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and inhalable particulate matter) are assessed with the aid of the US Environmental Protection Agency approved CALPUFF modelling suite, a non-steady-state Lagrangian Gaussian puff dispersion model. From the dispersion simulations an air quality impact assessment is undertaken. The major findings of the air quality assessment indicate that particulate concentrations are elevated over most areas of the Vaal Airshed, particularly in residential areas where domestic coal burning occurs and areas neighbouring major industrial operations. Similarly, elevated sulphur dioxide concentrations occur over industrial and domestic coal burning areas. Elevated nitrogen dioxide concentrations have a regional impact over the Vaal Airshed. Priority areas are identified based on the predicted ambient air concentrations from the priority pollutants and exposure potential. Source contributions are investigated based on the extent of their emissions and basis of impacts. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / Unrestricted

D.Phil. (Zoology) / Fish parasites may cause disease and lead to commercial losses. In order to construct practical management systems to mitigate or manage potential adverse effects, information on basic biological variables is required. Compared to the number of internationally published papers on the subject, little is known about the monogenean parasite fauna of South African fishes. Monogeneans are largely ectoparasitic, thin, flattened, host- and site specific parasites with a simple life cycle involving a single host (often a fish). They range in size between 0.3 mm and 20 mm and are mostly bilaterally symmetrical with the body subdivided into a number of regions. Attachment organs are a necessary feature both anteriorly and posteriorly, with the morphology of the prominent posterior attachment organ (opisthaptor) highly variable between genera. It may contain suckers, clamps or large hooks (anchors) as well as marginal hooks. In some genera anchors (one to two pairs) are associated with spikes or accessory sclerites and are supported by a connecting bar. All these structures, together with the sclerotized male copulatory organ, are of taxonomic significance....

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

M.Sc. / The Vaal River is the main source of water supply to the central industrial, mining and metropolitan regions of South Africa, and is, therefore, strictly regulated by small dams and weirs. The Vaal Dam is the main regulator of water to the Vaal River and is of great importance as it supplies water for human consumption and also to the industrial powerhouse of South Africa. Situated at the confluence of its major tributaries, namely the Vaal and Wilge Rivers, and straddling the convergence of the borders of Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga provinces, the Vaal Dam is approximately 77 km south of Johannesburg. It is South Africa’s second-largest dam in terms of area, and third-largest in terms of volume, and is a key component in South Africa’s water supply infrastructure. Gauteng, as well as the surrounding provinces are reliant on it for their water supply. Water flow fluctuations are deemed to be important as they could negatively impact upon the water quality. Knowledge of the relationship between fluctuating water flows and water quality is important as strategies can then be devised on this basis to improve the freshwater situation of the country, the associated management systems, and treatment technologies. By establishing the nature of the respective relationships between high water flow and the selected water quality parameters, ways could be found of reducing the costs of water quality problems, such as eutrophication. The various relationships between high water flow and the selected water quality parameters of the Vaal Dam that were established during the course of this study are as follows: In terms of pH, the study found that in the event of a decline in the water flow, the pH value increased and the water body became more alkaline. A decrease in water flow was also found to be associated with an increase in EC. An increase in water flow was found to be associated with a decrease in pH, EC and Chlorophyll-a. An increase in water flow up to a certain level was found to be associated with an increase in nitrates, sulphates and COD.

The Vaal Reef placer is situated on the unconformable junction of the Strathmore and Stilfontein formations of the Johannesburg Subgroup. Within the South Division of the Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining company lease, the Vaal Reef Placer is shown to be composed of several different units. Each unit exhibits its own specific characteristics and trend direction which can be used to establish distinct "Reef packages". These packages can be mapped in such a way as to provide a preliminary lithofacies map for the Vaal Reef Placer. The delineation of such geologically homogenous zones, and the development of a suitable depositional model, can be utilised in several ways. The characteristics of a particular zone are shown to influence the control of stoping width, evaluation of remnant pillars and the geostatistical methodology of evaluating current and future ore reserve blocks.

Ph.D. (Zoology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Tech (Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Human Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Tourism is an extremely important sector in any economy of a country and is a package of combined services and goods. There are a variety of types of tourism, and tourism also has a variety of sectors and characteristics. Customer satisfaction is very important within any organisation, because it provides a variety of benefits. The Kano model and many theories assist in understanding customer satisfaction and the factors that better influence the satisfaction of the customers. To accurately measure the satisfaction of customers, there are a variety of guidelines to follow to develop a well-developed questionnaire. The main goal of this study was to determine customer satisfaction and the factors that contribute to customer satisfaction, based on a case study at a tourism establishment (accommodation establishment) in the Vaal Region. The objectives were to conduct a literature review to identify the factors that affect customer satisfaction at an accommodation establishment and develop a measuring instrument to determine customer satisfaction at an accommodation establishment. Furthermore, an empirical analysis was conducted to measure the level of performance of the identified factors at an accommodation establishment in the Vaal Region. Additionally, to determine the factors that contribute to the satisfaction of the customers at a specific accommodation establishment in the Vaal Region. Thereafter, determine the difference between the factors that are regarded as important contributors to customer satisfaction and the factors with which customers are satisfied with at an accommodation establishment. Moreover, determine the difference between customer satisfaction factors across trip-related and demographic variables at an accommodation establishment. Finally, recommendations were made regarding the empirical results and for future research. The research followed a case study approach using quantitative, exploratory and descriptive research to administer and test the questionnaire, and to evaluate the satisfaction of the customers. Furthermore, the study used a non-probability method, convenience sampling. The sample size of the study was 132 customers at the accommodation establishment and a questionnaire was used to measure the satisfaction of the customers. The results indicated that the majority of the respondents were totally satisfied with certain aspects at the accommodation establishment. In total 11 factors were identified that contribute to customer satisfaction, and a total of 10 factors were identified that influence the satisfaction level of the customers. There was a statistical significant correlation between the factors with which customers are satisfied with, the factors that the customers regard as important, other trip-related and demographic variables. It can be seen that the accommodation establishment must take into account the factors which influence customer satisfaction to obtain higher customer satisfaction by.

M.Sc. (Zoology) / The world’s ever increasing human population has lead to an almost unimaginable amount of waste being released in to the aquatic environment every day. Aquatic systems are faced with the greatest risk due to the fact that water is an indispensable resource required for industrial and agricultural processes. In recent years there has been a dire need for the monitoring and rehabilitation of aquatic systems. As a result many biological monitoring programmes were set into place in an attempt to manage this problem. The use of aquatic organisms as sentinels for biomonitoring studies has been wildly accepted with the majority of biomonitoring research focusing on the use of various fish and invertebrate species as aquatic sentinel organisms. However, the use of parasites as sentinel organisms is a relatively new field and as a result there has been little published work on the use of monogenean ectoparasites parasites as such sentinels. The bioaccumulation and subsequent biomagnification of metals by certain parasite species is well known, with bulk of the published work focusing on endoparasites (cestodes, acanthocephalans & nematodes), these published studies indicate that some species of endoparasites exhibit a remarkable ability to biomagnify metals in concentrations that far exceed that of their respective hosts as well as the ambient environment. Thus this project aims to assess the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of metals by the ectoparasitic diplozoon. The study site that was chosen for this project was the Vaal Dam; this site was deemed appropriate due to its near pristine condition and major economic importance. This meant that this particular site is ideal for the testing of a new biomonitoring system. All field sampling was performed around UJ Island (26°52.249’S; 20°10.249’E) from February 2011 to April 2011. A total of 29 Labeo umbratus (Smith, 1841) were collected with the aid of gill nets and three sediment samples were also taken using a grab sampler. Water quality data was obtained from the Rand Water Analytical Facility in Vereeniging as this organisation routinely monitors of the water quality parameters and the metal concentrations within the surface waters of the Vaal Dam, this information was obtained with the aid of data loggers situated in the dam...

M.Sc. (Zoology) / The Vaal River system is constantly subjected to pollution from various industrial, mining and agricultural activities. Consequently, pressure is continually exerted on the health of its fish communities and it was suspected that this may be a contributing factor to the repeated fish kills that have occurred in various sections of the river over the past few years. The aim of this study was to assess the health status of three fish species that were affected by the most recent mass fish mortality in the Vaal River. This was done using a combination of techniques including a histology-based health assessment (HHA) that involved a standard fish necropsy, the evaluation of blood parameters as well as a microscopic assessment of the liver, kidney, gills, and gonads. The histological results were semi-quantitatively assessed. Selected chemical substances were also tested for in water, sediment and the skeletal muscle tissue of the fish. Clarias gariepinus, Labeo capensis and Labeo umbratus specimens were collected from the Vaal River, approximately 2480m below the Vaal Dam (Latitude 26°51'17.47"S; Longitude 28° 7'16.58"E) following the latest occurrence of a fish kill in November 2011. Fish were collected using gill nets. Water was sampled in triplicate at three locations, and in situ measurements were done for selected physico-chemical parameters. Sediment samples were also collected and subjected to a sequential extraction technique and quantification of the heavy metals was done using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Metals in skeletal muscle tissue and water were quantified using the same technique. An analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by the appropriate post-hoc test was performed to determine differences between means of variables i.e. morphometric, histological, substance concentration and blood parameters...

Ph.D. (Geography) / South Africa is characterised by limited natural water resources and is water-stressed. The Upper Vaal Water Management Area (WMA) is part of the Vaal River system, which is deemed to be the ‘workhorse’ of South Africa as it is located in the economic heart of the country. The WMA supplies water to all of the major economic entities in the economic hub of the country and is fully exploited in terms of the water that it makes available. Owing to its prime importance in terms of the economic development of the country, the quality of the water in the Upper Vaal WMA is an important factor which needs to be investigated and monitored intensively. The degradation in the quality of the water in this region will in its turn reduce the availability of water in the Upper Vaal WMA and have widespread environmental, social, as well as economic consequences and impacts. The aim of this study is thus to quantify and predict future hydrological responses, in terms of water quality, towards land cover changes in the case of the Upper Vaal WMA for the period, July 2000 to June 2012. In so doing, model equations can be formulated and predictions can be made for future hydrological changes in terms of future concentrations of the selected water quality parameters linked to specific land cover change scenarios. The quality of the water in the Upper Vaal WMA varies significantly across all of the secondary and tertiary catchments and could, therefore, be described as being of a heterogeneous nature. Its quality as a whole is below average and in some cases, poor. The quality of the water in the secondary catchment of the Wilge River, on the other hand, is for the most part of an ideal to acceptable standard. However it has been degraded to a certain extent as it displays tolerable concentrations of phosphate, COD and Chlorophyll a and unacceptably high concentrations of nitrate. The Vaal River, Vaal River Barrage and the Mooi River catchments are significantly degraded owing to the mainly tolerable to unacceptably high concentrations of most of the selected water quality parameters that they contain.....