Water Services

Mining Water Studies

This unit focuses solely on mining and processing. Key areas of work include:

v   Water aspects of environmental impact assessment and feasibility studies

v   Mine dewatering studies

v   Hydrochemistry and contamination studies

v   Mine waste management and characterisation

v   Waste disposal investigations

v   Numerical groundwater modelling

v   Mine closure studies

Monitoring

GCS offers quality monitoring services that are cost-effective and informative to allow clients to better manage their operations. These services include.

v   Water quality monitoring of surface water and groundwater

v   Microbiological monitoring of surface water and groundwater

v   Groundwater level monitoring

v   Air quality monitoring

v   Bio-monitoring

v   Occupational hygiene monitoring

Water Resources

The Water Resources unit is key to unlocking sustainable water resources. Its services include:

v   Groundwater and surface water resource development

v   Water supply investigations

v   Groundwater reserve determinations

v   Aquifer protection and remediation

v   Natural/mineral water development for bottled water.

v   Conjunctive use water supply schemes

Hydrology

Accounting for every drop of water is key to sustainability. Key services include:

v   Specialist water studies for EIA’s

v   Catchment hydrology and resource evaluations

v   Integrated water management

v   Flood hydrology and flood lines

v   Storm water management plans and designs

v   Dam yield analysis

v   Dynamic water and salt balances

v   Water footprinting

v   Hydrological modelling

v   Water management and planning

Groundwater Resources for Agriculture 

Potential study areas are identified and assessed for suitability through Aerial Photo Interpretation (API) and remote sensing. Ground geophysical investigations are performed to locate suitable borehole or well positions on site. Various geophysical methods are employed depending on the site specific geology and conditions. Catchment yield potential is evaluated through reserve calculations to determine the sustainability of groundwater abstraction.

During its 30 years of operation in Africa, GCS has established a comprehensive list of drilling and aquifer test contractors who can be employed to install and equip the boreholes. Once installed, aquifer tests can be performed to determine the sustainable yield of the aquifers. GCS performs drilling and aquifer test supervision to ensure optimal design, construction, and data collection. Hydrochemistry is determined to ensure water quality suitability for the intended use.

Agricultural studies allow for the integration of water (surface and groundwater), soils and the environment. With GCS’ strong background in these sectors, GCS specialists can offer a wide range of expertise to the agricultural sector. GCS has an established history of providing specialist inputs that facilitate a range of developments and the specialist skills required for this work can be and have been effectively applied to Agricultural projects.

Irrigation is a good example of an integrated application of the soils and water spheres. This is especially true for the direction in which agriculture is heading; precision agriculture. There is a drive toward more cost-effectively managed agricultural resources by better understanding one’s available water and soil resources. GCS has considerable experience in the development and management of groundwater resources in Africa and offers the following professional services:

v   API and remote sensing

v   Database development and management

v   Geophysical investigations

v   Contract management and supervision

v   Borehole design and construction

v   Resource evaluation (quantity and quality)

v   Catchment reserve calculation studies

v   Well field design, modelling, and optimisation.

v   Borehole scheme management and monitoring