Research brings clean water to rural school

Abstract

Rural water supply M adibogo village is located about 90 km from Mafikeng in the Ditsobotla district of the former Bophuthatswana. The area has a total population of 23 000, who are all dependent on groundwater for their water supply. The water is drawn from several boreholes and fed to a number of reservoirs from where it gravity feeds about 86 communal standpipes. The water is generally not treated prior to distribution, although chlorine is some­ times added to the reservoir water. In the 1990s, the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry expressed concern over the high levels of nitrate is some water resources in the North West province. As a result, the Water Research Commission (WRC) funded a research project, executed by the North West University (NWU), to survey the extent of nitrogenous pol­ lution of groundwater in the province. HigH nitRate levels This study confirmed high nitrate lev­ els in the groundwater of some areas, including Madibogo.

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