"We will compile a report to hand to Parliament in a month's time, but the situation is serious so we will need to intervene before that, "says Chair of the department of water affairs' portfolio committee, Maggie Sotyu.  "We are visiting the areas so we can assess what needs to be done to fix the problem."  The problem is the acid mine drainage welling up beneath the city of Johannesburg, while the last operational mine on the East Rand struggles to pump and treat the water.

Marius Keet, the department's acting director of institutional establishment,  said that the mine was pumping only 40 megaliters per day while 108 megaliters a day is the requirement to prevent flooding.

The toxic water legacy of 120 years of gold mining in the region, if not pumped and treated, would have catastrophic consequences for the environment, human and animal life.

Earlier this year the department of water affairs opened a criminal case against Aurora.  It was alleged that the mine failed to comply with a directive to treat the pumped water before discharging it. The matter is being investigated.

Aurora's general manager Louis Lamsley said the State provides a R5million subsidy (per month) to assist with pumping cost which run to R6.5 per month. He claims the subsidy was last paid in October 2009.