A review of biophysical and socio-economic effects of unconventional oil and gas extraction - implications for South Africa

The impacts associated with unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction will be cumulative in nature and will most likely occur on a regional scale, highlighting the importance of using strategic decision-making and management tools. Managing possible impacts responsibly is extremely important in a water scarce country such as South Africa, versus countries where more water may be available for UOG extraction activities. This review article explains the possible biophysical and socioeconomic impacts associated with UOG extraction within the South African context and how these complex impacts interlink. Relevant policy and governance frameworks to manage these impacts are also highlighted.The Water Research Commission, South Africa, is thanked for providing funding for this research.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman2017-12-31hb2017Geolog

Vulnerability mapping as a tool to manage the environmental impacts of oil and gas extraction

Various biophysical and socio-economic impacts may be associated with unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction. A vulnerability map may assist governments during environmental assessments, spatial planning and the regulation of UOG extraction, as well as decision-making around UOG extraction in fragile areas. A regional interactive vulnerability map was developed for UOG extraction in South Africa. This map covers groundwater, surface water, vegetation, socio-economics and seismicity as mapping themes, based on impacts that may emanate from UOG extraction. The mapping themes were developed using a normative approach, where expert input during the identification and classification of vulnerability indicators may increase the acceptability of the resultant map. This article describes the development of the interactive vulnerability map for South Africa, where UOG extraction is not yet allowed and where regulations are still being developed to manage this activity. The importance and policy implications of using vulnerability maps for managing UOG extraction impacts in countries where UOG extraction is planned are highlighted in this article.The Water Research Commission, South Africahttp://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.orgam2018Geolog

MIKE-SHE integrated groundwater and surface water model used to simulate scenario hydrology for input to DRIFT-ARID: the Mokolo River case study

A fully integrated, physically-based MIKE SHE/MIKE11 model was developed for the Mokolo River basin flow system to simulate key hydraulic and hydrologic indicator inputs to the Downstream Response to Imposed Flow Transformation for Arid Rivers (DRIFT-ARID) decision support system (DSS). The DRIFT-ARID tool is used in this study to define environmental water requirements (EWR) for non-perennial river flow systems in South Africa to facilitate ecosystembased management of water resources as required by the National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998). Fifty years of distributed daily climate data (1950 to 2000) were used to calibrate the model against decades of daily discharge data at various gauges, measurements of Mokolo Dam stage levels, and one-time groundwater level measurements at hundreds of wells throughout the basin. Though the calibrated model captures much of the seasonal and post-event stream discharge response characteristics, lack of sub-daily climate and stream discharge data limits the ability to calibrate the model to event-level system response (i.e. peak flows). In addition, lack of basic subsurface hydrogeologic characterisation and transient groundwater level data limits the ability to calibrate the groundwater flow model, and therefore baseflow response, to a high level. Despite these limitations, the calibrated model was used to simulate changes in hydrologic and hydraulic indicators at five study sites within the basin for five 50-year land-use change scenarios, including a present-day (with dam), natural conditions (no development/irrigation), and conversion of present-day irrigation to game farm, mine/city expansion, and a combination of the last two. Challenges and recommendations for simulating the range of non-perennial systems are presented.Keywords: hydrology, non-perennial, MIKE SHE, integrated surface and groundwater modellin

DRIFT-ARID: A method for assessing environmental water requirements (EWRs) for non-perennial rivers

Environmental water requirement (EWR) assessment methods, for ascertaining how much water should be retained in rivers to sustain ecological functioning and desired levels of biodiversity, have mostly been developed for perennial rivers. Despite non-perennial rivers comprising about 30–50% of the world’s freshwater systems, data on their hydrology, biota and ecological functioning are sparse. Current EWR assessments require hydrological and other data that may not be available for such rivers and some adaptation in the methods used seems necessary. DRIFT is an EWR method for perennial (or near-perennial) rivers that has been developed in South Africa over the past two decades and is now widely applied nationally and internationally. When applied to the semi-permanent Mokolo River, challenges particular to, or accentuated by, non-perennial rivers included the reliable simulation of hydrological data, the extent of acceptable extrapolation of data, difficulties in predicting surface-water connectivity along the river, and the location and resilience of pools, as well as whether it was possible to identify a reference (natural) condition. DRIFT-ARID, reported on here, is an adaptation of the DRIFT approach to begin addressing these and other issues. It consists of 11 phases containing 29 activities.Keywords: EWR, non-perennial, DRIFT, DS

Groundwater resources monitoring during unconventional oil and gas extraction: South African laboratory analytical capabilities

Groundwater resource quality monitoring before, during, and after unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction would assist in protecting groundwater resources. Limited laboratory analytical capacity may, however, hamper effective monitoring. We assessed South African (SA) laboratory analytical capabilities for specific groundwater monitoring parameters relevant to UOG extraction. We found a limited capacity to analyse for most of the UOG extraction–related groundwater monitoring parameters and that most of the surveyed laboratories are not planning to increase their analyses capacity to cater for UOG extraction. This issue must be addressed urgently if SA wants to proceed with UOG extraction. Policy recommendations include that South Africa should develop a specialised UOG extraction monitoring laboratory to cater for analytical needs. Such capacity could also address the analytical requirements for the rest of the African region during UOG extraction

A mobile application to protect groundwater during unconventional oil and gas extraction

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) is an important energy source for many countries, but requires large quantities of water for its development, and may pollute water resources. Regulations are one of the main tools to achieve government policy on natural resource protection. South Africa, which is energy-constrained, but also water-scarce, is currently considering UOG extraction as an additional energy resource. UOG development could commence as soon as regulations to protect natural resources such as water have been published. Such regulations are, however, often not effectively enforced, which negatively affects the protection of water resources during UOG extraction. This study addresses these enforcement challenges in South Africa. It focuses on the science–society–policy interface by proposing a civic informatics platform to assist with on-the-ground enforcement of regulations via a mobile application. This mobile application aims to address both groundwater monitoring and management as well as UOG extraction operations in a single platform, to enable regulators to protect groundwater resources more effectively during UOG extraction, while simultaneously enhancing transparency in the UOG industry

Monitoring of unconventional oil and gas extraction and its policy implications : a case study from South Africa

Biophysical and socio-economic monitoring during unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction is important to assess change and to have reference conditions against which to identify UOG extraction activity impacts. The large-scale cumulative impacts of UOG extraction makes standardised monitoring across geographic and socio-political regions important. This article emphasises the importance of a robust monitoring framework that must serve as a guideline for planning monitoring activities during UOG extraction. A case study from South Africa is presented to illustrate important aspects to address during the development of a UOG extraction monitoring framework. The South African case is critically assessed and resultant policy implications are discussed. Important policy considerations include performing baseline monitoring during UOG extraction, performing UOG extraction monitoring in an integrated, systematic, and standardised manner, ensuring that proper resources are available to perform the monitoring and implementing an adaptive management plan that is linked to UOG extraction monitoringThe Water Research Commission , South Africahttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol2019-07-01hj2018Geolog

Vulnerability mapping as a tool to manage the environmental impacts of oil and gas extraction

Various biophysical and socio-economic impacts may be associated with unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction. A vulnerability map may assist governments during environmental assessments, spatial planning and the regulation of UOG extraction, as well as decision-making around UOG extraction in fragile areas. A regional interactive vulnerability map was developed for UOG extraction in South Africa. This map covers groundwater, surface water, vegetation, socio-economics and seismicity as mapping themes, based on impacts that may emanate from UOG extraction. The mapping themes were developed using a normative approach, where expert input during the identification and classification of vulnerability indicators may increase the acceptability of the resultant map. This article describes the development of the interactive vulnerability map for South Africa, where UOG extraction is not yet allowed and where regulations are still being developed to manage this activity. The importance and policy implications of using vulnerability maps for managing UOG extraction impacts in countries where UOG extraction is planned are highlighted in this article.The Water Research Commission, South Africahttp://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.orgam2018Geolog