scholarly journals Striving for Borehole Drilling Professionalism in Africa: A Review of a 16-Year Initiative through the Rural Water Supply Network from 2004 to 2020

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3305
Author(s):  
Kerstin Danert ◽  
Dotun Adekile ◽  
Jose Gesti Canuto
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Supply Network ◽  
Premature Failure ◽  
Capacity Strengthening ◽  
Water Supply Network ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Borehole Drilling

Drilled boreholes are vital to achieving universal, safe drinking water and meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.1, particularly in Africa. Poor quality siting, borehole design, drilling and completion lead to premature failure of the water supply. From 2004 to 2020, a multi-stakeholder initiative through the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) has endeavored to raise the professionalism of borehole drilling and its management in Africa. The initiative comprised in-country and desk studies, training, and the development of guidelines, manuals, training materials, short animated films for advocacy as well as using blogs, webinars and online communities of practice to share experiences. The initiative was funded to approximately USD 750,000 in total. Funding was fragmented throughout, but the initial support by the World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme Africa (WSP-AF), consistent leadership and subsequent partnerships between Skat Foundation, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WaterAid UK and others enabled progression on the topic, as well as innovation and opportunities to be harnessed. The initiative has raised the profile of drilling professionalism, provided a wealth of materials and inspired others to take action. Thousands of stakeholders have improved their knowledge. Academic research on the topic has also increased and capacity strengthening of groundwater management and professional drilling is now an action area for the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW). UNICEF and WaterAid are among the organizations that have made changes to procurement and project management as a result of the initiative. Despite a growing recognition of the importance of drilling professionalism, reliable, long-term investment in in-country training and professional development, and addressing challenges in the institutional environment remains inadequate. Despite the importance of water well drilling, and commitments to SDG 6.1, capacity strengthening in this area remains a marginal issue for national and international political leadership, and arguably for international funding agencies.

The Rural Water Supply Network

Waterlines ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-3
Author(s):  
Erich Baumann ◽  
Richard Carter
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Supply Network ◽  
Water Supply Network ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water

Electromagnetic Profiling for Groundwater in Precambrian Basement Complex Areas of Nigeria

1990 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Idowu Olayinka
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
High Conductivity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Precambrian Basement ◽  
Basement Complex ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Well Yield ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Borehole Drilling

Ground electromagnetic profiling, using a Geonics EM34-3 instrument, has been employed to identify areas of high conductivity in a Precambrian basement complex terrain of Nigeria. Field examples, conducted as part of a rural water supply programme, are presented. They indicate that the apparent conductivities are generally lower than about 60 mmho m−1. Subsequent borehole drilling suggests a good correlation between high EM34 anomalies, deep weathering and high well yield (> 1 1 s−1). On the other hand, boreholes sited on conductivity lows penetrated a thinner regolith with relatively lower yields.

scholarly journals Efficacy of Geophysical Techniques for Groundwater Exploration in the Volta Basin, Northern Region of Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19
Author(s):  
A. Ewusi ◽  
J. Seidu
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Drinking Water Source ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Volta Basin ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Geophysical Techniques ◽  
Borehole Drilling

Abstract Groundwater, traditionally extracted from hand-dug wells and boreholes is the main drinking water source in the Northern Region of Ghana. Many boreholes have been constructed in the region to increase accessibility to potable water mainly as part of rural water supply projects where borehole siting has to be relatively cheaper.  These projects have resulted in low success rates of borehole drilling because of the application of inefficient and simple geophysical techniques supposed to be cheaper. Field surveys were conducted with the Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) technique, Electrokinetic System (EKS) sounding technique and Radon (222Rn) technique with the objectives of determining the best geophysical methods for borehole siting and its efficiency in the Volta Basin (VB) in the Northern Region of Ghana. The surveys were conducted at stations of existing dry and positive boreholes. Results show that the three geophysical techniques are efficient to identify groundwater accumulation zones. The ERI, EKS and 222Rn are efficient to identify discontinuities, calculate hydraulic conductivity of discontinuities and identify areas of water circulation respectively. It is recommended that the ERI be used to obtain discontinuities and weak zones for drilling on rural water supply projects in the VB. The EKS and 222Rn should be conducted to evaluate these features when high yield boreholes are required.   Keywords: Geophysical Techniques, Volta Basin, Borehole Drilling, Success Rates

Lesotho makes strides in rural water supply

Waterlines ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-31
Author(s):  
Adrian Clark
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water

Taking sustainable rural water supply services to scale: where are the bottlenecks?

Waterlines ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 8-10
Author(s):  
Jennifer Davis ◽  
Param Iyer
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Water Supply Services

Institutional variations in practice of demand responsive approach: evidence from rural water supply in India

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 650-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyapriya Rout
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The State ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Village Communities

The paper reports the main findings of a study, designed to develop a better understanding of institutional variations in working with the demand responsive approach (DRA) in rural water supply in the state of Odisha in India. Data for the paper were collected from twelve village communities, where water is being supplied either through their community based institution or through the local government institution of the Gram Panchayat. The findings suggest that the two types of institutions performed differently in implementing the DRA. It depicted that the DRA under the broader rubric of institutional reforms in the water sector has failed to address the question of social inequality, and rather had reinforced and extended the already existing inequity of Indian society to access to safe and secure drinking water in rural areas. The study highlights that participation, cost recovery, full operation and management transfer may be an efficient proposition, but not sustainable in the long run without proper investment in institution building and support from the state, especially in provisioning of basic services like drinking water to rural poor.

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