VELTWATER DISTIL-LERY - KEEP CALM, IT'S A NEW YEAR, OR IS IT? - Wsimg.com
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VELTWATER DISTIL-LERY
KEEP CALM, IT’S A NEW YEAR, OR IS IT?
Volume 2 / Issue 1
Monday 25 January 2021
Topic #1 – High Tech Topic #2: Monitoring, Topic #3: Good Rainy Season,
Hydrogeology Monitoring, Monitoring Yet No Water
#1: HIGH TECH HYDROGEOLOGY
Enough with the lockdown gloom, let us smell some roses for a
moment and drift away into an alternative world…
Have you ever thought about the technological advancements and how far we have
come in a few short years?
colour, hardness, streak etc.), and calculate the
Have you ever heard of precision farming? To those penetration rates with depth. Drilling supervision
who have not, here is a short explanation… could be done from the comfort of your own home
Precision agriculture is a with real-time data already in a workable format to
modern farming practice plug into geological model- or conceptual model
that make production more software. Imagine how much money and time this
efficient (i.e., the farmers will save, and more importantly, eliminate human
and soils work better, not error or excuses from contractors who simply
harder). Satellites conduct “forgot” …
geomapping, drones collect aerial data and sensors Anyone know of someone willing to collaborate
collect moisture and temperature data on land on getting this developed? Think it might be too
equipping the farmers with real-time insight. New farfetched?...
monitoring equipment enable farmers to monitor
In a technical note by Rau et al. (2020) it was stated
crops more precisely and continuously, therefore,
that computational advances in artificial
enabling strategic decision-making for increasing
intelligence approaches, such as deep learning
productivity and reducing environmental impact
can digest large quantities of data to solve
(source: https://www.afgri.co.za).
challenging problems, derive new understanding or
Now imagine THIS…… forecast future scenarios. Automated water level
An advanced drilling recorders, in conjunction with data telemetry,
technique where the drilling enables cost-effective collection of groundwater
bit is equipped with the same data, even in remote locations. The future may be
sort of precision technology closer than we think. Read the article:
connected with satellites, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10040-
equipped with GPS, and 020-02242-7
programmed with more Join in the conversation:
advanced algorithms to automatically evaluate the
soils, rock and moisture. It then assigns the correct • What do you think the future of
the hydrogeological world will look
amount of pressure and airflow with depth, while still
like?
drilling straight. Further imagine that the algorithms
• Do you have ideas for
built into the bit will also be able to log the geological technological advancements that will lower costs
formations (in accordance with the mineral but not compromise on the accuracy or precision of
composition, chemical composition, crystal lattice, datasets?
#2: MONITORING, MONITORING, MONITORING
Why do the specialists hammer on endless monitoring? Here is the
short version…
Can I say with a measurable amount of certainty that my groundwater use does not
impair other water users? How can I be sure?
Water monitoring is defined as the regular or routine With groundwater monitoring the following
sampling, analysis, and evaluation of one or more objectives can be determined (Poehls and Smith,
elements of the groundwater resource for a specific 2009):
objective(s) (DWA, 1997).
• Water quality and chemistry of an area,
Yes, yes but in plain English please… • Water quality of a specific borehole designated
for water supply,
It is a formal process of regularly collecting
• Extent of groundwater contamination from a
groundwater data (e.g., water levels, quality, rainfall, known source/sources,
abstraction rates) and analysing each to accumulate • Provide regional information on depths to the
and observe groundwater trends until the monitoring water table,
objectives are met (DWA, 1997). • Provide information on drawdown from
continual abstraction (regional or local), and
Freshwater is a finite resource and it is essential for • Monitor a potential source of contamination to
any life on earth to exist. Poeter et al. (2020) stated determine its potential effect on groundwater.
that all types of surface water bodies are sustained by
So, why is it important? Well, see monitoring as
the steady release of groundwater, which explains
an early warning system, since it can alert you
why streams or rivers do not run dry despite going
to any current, ongoing, or emerging problems.
months without rainfall (see Figure below).
As hydrogeological specialists, we have
experience in observing trends, making meaningful
conclusions based on the conceptual
understanding of the aquifer and impacts, and can
translate this into language readily understood by
various levels of role players.
Join in the conversation:
• Now that you know the
importance of monitoring, how would
you go about in budgeting for it?
• Contact us and we will happily discuss your needs
and the best way to achieve it.
#3: GOOD RAINY SEASON, YET NO WATER
What would you be able to live without – Water or Electricity?
By default, no electricity, no water but currently there is scheduled load shedding and
water ‘shedding’…
Who has seen this image floating around in the social ‘shedding’ already implemented in Bloemfontein
media sphere? It is beautiful! (source: Maroela Media, 2020) and Bethlehem
(first-hand experience) in the Free State (no doubt
many other places), as well as serious
contamination.
With infrastructure being old, when left empty for a
long period of time the sudden rush of water
pressure causes old pipes to either burst or start
leaking, which leads to a whole series of other
problems.
Upon the review of a few opinion pieces, some
The picture above is a captured image from a video
called for the privatisation of the water supply
taken at the Augrabies Falls National Park situated in
systems in South Africa where it is argued that
the Northern Cape Province. This magnificent view
putting a higher cost on water, will ensure the
speaks to the wonderful rains experienced across the
preservation of the resource.
country in recent months. These rains are reflected in
the most recent provincial summary of dam levels by Aljazeera published a featured documentary titled
the DWS as seen in the Table below. “Lords of Water: Episode One” on 29 December
2020 which investigated the financialisaton of
water in the UK and Australia. In short, the
documentary examines the struggle between those
who wish to treat water as a raw material and those
who wish to preserve it as a resource open to all.
Look at the documentary by following the link;
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/featured-
documentaries/2020/12/29/lords-of-water-
episode-one
Join in the conversation:
Despite increasing water levels, most recent
struggles include crumbling infrastructures, water • What solution would you
propose?
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