Water Wheel July/Aug 2025: Groundwater Exploration

Abstract

The challenges and rewards of deep groundwater exploration Feature A new study funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC) offers groundbreaking insights into deep groundwater systems within the Bushveld Igneous Complex. It is one of the most detailed hydrogeological investigations conducted on deep fractured aquifers in South Africa. Petro Kotzé reports. Deep groundwater remains an unexplored resource in South Africa and globally. Deep aquifer systems are expensive to explore, and those that do, like mines, are more interested in generating geological than hydrogeological data. As a result, we don’t know what potential water resources lie down there – either for residential, agricultural, or industrial use, or even space for more controversial uses, such as storing carbon to offset the impacts of climate change. A WRC-funded study aimed to shed new light on deep groundwater systems in one of South Africa’s most geologically significant formations — the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BC).

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