Water
Africa’s
aquifers aren’t
being protected
as they should
N
GOs often promote the digging of wells as
the solution to the long distances women
in rural areas travel to collect water. These
wells do improve the quality of life but care
needs to be taken in digging them as they could lead
to the over-exploitation of aquifers.
It is true that wells have been advocated because they are easy
to use, and because of the perception that groundwater is
omnipresent. Also, the cost of sinking a well in comparison to
other water supply infrastructure is minimal.
But the International Institute for Environment and Development
has said that up to US$360 million has been spent on rural water
supply schemes which are now dysfunctional. This equates to
approximately 50,000 water points or pieces of infrastructure that
have been installed and no longer work.
In Bangladesh, for example, NGOs have pushed for wells to
be dug. But recent research suggests that human alteration to
the landscape, the construction of ponds, and the adoption of
irrigated agriculture are responsible for a pattern of increased
arsenic concentration underground.
Added to this is the problem of unsustainable extraction. This
takes place through a myriad of ways. The consequences can be
devastating.
Sadly this is the only water people in the region have. They are
forced to drink it and suffer from callouses on their hands and feet
caused by the arsenic.
A similar situation occurred in a small South African town a few
years ago. Studies completed in the area noticed a decline in
groundwater levels by as much as 25 metres over a period of
20 years due to unsustainable extraction. The situation was so
dire that calls were made for people passing through to transport
water into the town.
The Cinderella of water resources
instances, the deterioration of groundwater quality and mining
of aquifers.
A number of technical factors need to be taken into account on
a site by site basis to make sure that groundwater is extracted
sustainably.
It is a common misconception that when we drill, we tap into a
river underground. This is not the case.
Ground water moves slowly through, or is stored in, permeable
rocks called aquifers. An aquifer may be a layer of almost any
kind of gravel, sand or rock that has spaces between the pores
able to hold moisture. The connectivity of these pores and the size
of the pore, or cavity, will determine the ability to extract water
from the subsurface.
There is a case to be made for and against using underground
water. But monitoring is critical. The problem is that monitoring
stations are regularly closed down and less data is available to
manage the resource.
The situation becomes critical when emergency supplies are
needed and the groundwater reserves are able to replenish the
already depleted surface water reserves. When the need arises,
the automatic response is to pump groundwater to supplement
surface water, but without the necessary management and
monitoring systems in place.
Working together for water
A decentralised approach to managing the resource has been
taken in certain African countries. For example, in West Africa,
money is collected regularly from the users of a supply well in a
village to help finance the maintenance of the well.
This approach doesn’t always work. The International Institute for
Environment and Development has shown that nepotism is rife
and the mismanagement of finances on such a small scale is
common.
Aquifers across Africa are critical for potable water supply and
help contribute as much as 70% of the total water supply in some
countries. The management of these is critical.
In essence, a more co-ordinated effort is required which involves
government, NGOs, academia and the private sector to
sustainably develop and manage groundwater. This means that
licensing, as exists in South African legislation, is needed prior to
sinking a well or borehole for water supply or irrigation purposes.
For example, groundwater supplies the majority of small towns
in South Africa, yet almost none of the municipalities employ
a hydrogeologist on a full-time basis... This has led to the
mismanagement of the subsurface water reserve and, in certain
* From TheConversation media service.
Gaathier Mahed \