Photo: Cullinan CPF

Pretoria water crisis: “Imminent mine collapse” could make things worse

In Pretoria East, 300 000 people won’t have access to running water for the foreseeable future. Now a mine collapse in Cullinan has added to their woes.

by Tom Head

16-12-2019 11:23

in News

Photo: Cullinan CPF

As we learned last week, it never rains but it pours in Pretoria. After contending with the scourge of floods and torrential weather, the city is now fighting against a water crisis. Areas to the east of PTA are facing the prospect of no running water “until next year”, but things could soon get worse for Gauteng metro.

Petra Diamonds Mine “facing wall collapse”

The southern pit wall at the Petra Diamonds Mine in Cullinan is about to collapse, and the significant structural damage is expected to hamper officials in Pretoria as they scramble to deal with the troubles that have already been plated-up over the weekend. The local CPF group have provided the following information:

“Petra Diamonds Mine observed an acceleration in the displacement of the southern pit sidewall, away from the residential area, in the area directly north of the batching plant (area hatched in green in the attached figure). This area of the pit sidewall was destabilised and slumped after the wedge failure of 28 October.”
“Measurements from the pit monitoring system indicates expected failure is imminent. It is estimated that this will occur within the next 24 to 48 hours. The magnitude of the expected failure will be significant (several million tonnes) which is expected to create a significant dust plume.”
Cullinan CPF

Pretoria water crisis merges with mine alert

Despite the inconvenience, we can confirm that there is no threat to life of residential properties. The beleagured wall at the Cullinal Hole is north-facing, meaning it won’t impact anyone nearby. This may be the only silver-lining in an otherwise gloomy cloud hanging over Pretoria.

The damage has put 300 000 people into a very precarious situation. With no running water, contingency plans have already been deployed in Pretoria. A host of JoJo tanks are being transported to those hit hardest by the pipeline catastrophe, and another “alternative solution” has got the go-ahead.

Magalies Water CEO Sandile Mkhize told SABC that construction is underway to build a temporary extraction point, acting as an artificial replacement for the destroyed infrastructure. However, with an eight-month rebuilding job on the horizon, residents will still face long periods of water shortages.