The dam is situated a few metres from the wells. The pollution has forced farmers to get water from another dam a short distance away from the wells. But they say even this dam is polluted by effluent from the mine because streams that supply it pass close to the waste-water dam.

Farmers in the area told Monitor that the water is so polluted by human waste that it has been rendered useless. "The water is so salty it is undrinkable, and drinking it is surely dangerous," said Mpho Seithamo. He said that BCL officials once came and took water samples from the wells for testing, but they never came back to give feedback.

Before this, BCL officials informed them that the water is unsafe for human consumption. The officials said human waste from the mine toilets are disposed off in the mine dam that sometimes overflows towards the residents' farms and wells.

Another resident Dorcus France said that food cooked with the water from the wells turns yellow. She said the overflow of the human waste from the mine waste-water dam is most evident after rains, though the dam sometimes overflows even when there is no rainfall. France said that as the mine has not provided an alternative supply for their drinking water, they are now faced with the difficult task of fetching water from town.

"We have been left with no choice but to fetch drinking water from Selebi-Phikwe by donkey cart," she said. However elderly residents with no children have no choice but to drink the polluted water. France said that livestock have often drank directly from the BCL waste-water dam as people vandalise the fence that keep the animals away. The mine has put up notices along the fence indicating that the water is not safe for human consumption.

Public health officer from Selebi-Phikwe Town Council, Desmond Tshotlego said he is not aware of the pollution though he will investigate. "I have just been transferred to Selebi-Phikwe and I have not been to the field that often." BCL management could not respond at the time of going to press.