Characterisation of Local Borehole Water within the Platinum Belt in Mokopane, Limpopo, Republic of South Africa

South Africa is known to be a water scarce country, with an average rainfall of about 495 mm per annum. Around 40% of the world's population is affected by freshwater scarcity because of growing urbanization, industrialization, and excessive use of natural resources. With no adequate water infrastructures in place, rural areas in Mokopane Town rely on borehole water for everyday endeavours. The impact of Mining has subsequently led to the degradation of the water quality in the areas in which mines operate. Water pollution is one of the global concerns with the goal of improving water quality and reducing the negative effects on human and ecological health. The increase in mining activities over the Mogalakwena catchment possess a water quality risk due to mine water decant and fluorides caused by the geology of the area. By characterising the water samples in the area, the Physio-chemical analysis of the study showed most physical properties of the groundwater to be within the acceptable WHO standards. Chemical properties showed very high Mg values (As high as 139 mg/L) and Fluoride values as high as 2.05mg/L. Nitrate and Nitrite showed poor and unacceptable(>10mg/L) values on 69% of the water samples. This characterisation used techniques such as environmental assessment, Inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), conductivity probe, water turbidity, total suspended solids method, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, and pH. The results were analysed using GIS to map out the boreholes and their respective water results. It’s recommended that Mogalakwena Municipality needs to monitor public boreholes in the area and upload results on ground water assessment for easier access on information, for the people to know the condition of the water they receive.