Unlocking the Potential of Groundwater for the Poor
The IAH Hydrogeology Journal has published a special issue focusing on groundwater in Sub-Saharan Africa and good overview is provided in the online Preface.
The main UPGro contributions are:
Prof. Dan Olago (University of Nairobi / Gro for GooD) Constraints and solutions for groundwater development, supply and governance in urban areas in Kenya
Dr Callist Tindimugaya (MWE Uganda / UPGro Ambassador) Review: Challenges and opportunities for sustainable groundwater management in Africa
Suleiman Mwakurya worked as a research assistant on the Gro for GooD project in Kenya, based out of the Rural Focus field office in Kwale. He recently took on a new role working for the Kwale County Government. Gro for GooD Co-I Patrick Thomson caught up with him to find out about his new job.
PT: What is your current job now and how does it links back to your work with Gro for GooD?
SM: I started work as Superintendent Geologist for Kwale County Government at the end of 2018. My main role is carrying out hydrogeological surveys for the county government, and I’m also involved in supervision of the drilling machinery owned by the County, supervising the drilling crew and managing the rig. When I’m not in the field, I’m in the office working on project management and evaluating tenders for drilling of new boreholes. We are overwhelmed with boreholes! Everyone is coming to the county government asking for help with the drilling machine – more people want boreholes – we have a backlog of over 100 boreholes so we have been tendering some of this work to private contractors. I’m involved in designing of programmes of works for these contractors – how and where they are going to drill, installation and how management will be handed over to the county government. I also do some installation of solar pumps, electric pumps and handpumps. I really thank UPGro in general, and the whole Gro for GooD fraternity… as the project certainly equipped me with some of the skills which I’m currently using, including handpump repair and installation.
PT: How has Gro for GooD research influenced the development and management of groundwater resources in Kwale County?
SM: The County doesn’t have a lot of resources for groundwater development and groundwater monitoring. We have been drilling boreholes but we don’t have data. Hydrogeologists like Mike Lane and Professor Dan Olago can help the County with the kind of information, data and expertise that they have in terms of groundwater management. Capacity building and training for county staff is also useful. The County is working on the World Bank funded Kwale County Water Supply Master Plan and we are in the initial stages of this for the three major towns – Ukunda, Msambweni and Kwale—targeting the palaeochannels [water-bearing geological features located by the Gro for GooD project]. We are through with 28 exploratory boreholes and have the results, so are now preparing to drill a number of production boreholes. The timing will depend on the procurement process but hopefully drilling will commence in 2020. The first step will be to drill three boreholes in Kinondo, which are the ones that are going to be used to supply Ukunda town. After that we hope to drill another three boreholes in Msambweni and Milalani to supply Msambweni.
PT: Tell us about your time with UPGro.
SM: I worked on the Gro for GooD project for about two and a half years. I was based in the field office in Bomani, Kwale County and was closely involved with the water quality research – sampling and recording data at 49 sampling sites every fortnight. I also assisted on the geophysical surveys, household surveys and surface water monitoring. Actually the skills I acquired at UPGro have made a big improvement in my career, particularly the experience of working on geophysical surveys and groundwater monitoring. I also had training and experience with organisation and interpretation of data as the project collected a large volume of data on groundwater, rainfall, surface water and water quality. Calvince [Wara – Research Manager at the Bomani field office] was a very good mentor for me and helped me develop skills in data management and analysis. Working with the Gro for GooD project has also inspired me on the welfare side – the household surveys made me aware of issues for people around here who face difficulty with water supplies. In densely populated areas, we see many people queueing up to use the same handpump. I have been developing proposals to upgrade some handpumps to solar pumps.
PT: What are your plans for the future?
SM: I have a passion for hydrogeology and I’m happy that the Gro for GooD project helped me develop this passion. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Nairobi in 2013. I started working as a drilling supervisor and then I joined the UPGro project and it has really opened up how I look at hydrogeology and groundwater. I learnt a lot of things from it. I’ve been looking into applying for an MSc programme maybe in Hydrogeology, or perhaps Geophysics or Hydrogeochemistry.
We are delighted to report that UN-Water, the coordinating body for water issues across the United Nations, in a meeting this week agreed to make the theme of the 2022 World Water Development Report and World Water Day: “Groundwater: making the invisible visible” http://enb.iisd.org/water/un/30/html/enbplus82num34e.html
Meanwhile three new UPGro papers have recently been published:
“Groundwater hydrodynamics of an Eastern Africa coastal aquifer, including La Niña 2016–17 drought”
Núria Ferrera; Albert Folch; Mike Lane; Daniel Olago; JuliusOdida; Emilio Custodio (Gro for GooD)
Key Points
This paper is accessible from here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719302177?dgcid=coauthor until 13 March
“A case for urban liveability from below: exploring the politics of water and land access for greater liveability in Kampala, Uganda”
Maryam Nastar, Jennifer Isoke, Robinah Kulabako & Giorgia Silvestri (T-GroUP) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549839.2019.1572728
Key Points
Transition Management for Improving the Sustainability of WASH Services in Informal Settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa—An Exploration.
Silvestri, G.; Wittmayer, J.M.; Schipper, K.; Kulabako, R.; Oduro-Kwarteng, S.; Nyenje, P.; Komakech, H.; Van Raak, R. (T-GroUP) https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/4052
Key points:
Groundwater and the poor are easily ignored. Hidden underground or of low political priority, the motivation and ability to improve groundwater management and welfare are often constrained by capacity, resources and governance structures. In much of Africa, the political calculus is changing as severe but unpredictable droughts, increasingly decentralised decision-making, and growing water competition are emphasizing the critical nature of groundwater as a buffer to drought, driver of economic growth, and vital resource for the poor and marginalised.
On the south coast of Kenya, today’s situation reflects regional trends with over half a billion dollars of new investments by mining, agriculture and urban development raising concerns about managing and allocating groundwater to protect the resource base and ensure the poor are not marginalised by more powerful interests. As part of the Unlocking the Potential of Groundwater for the Poor,the Groundwater Risk Management for Growth and Development project has convened researchers from the UK, Kenya and Spain with national and county Government of Kenyan partners and water-related industry.
Yesterday, the Kwale County Government Water Minister, Hon. Hemed Mwabudzo, convened the final project workshop in Diani with over 30 stakeholder partners to discuss 15 recommendations for policy action across four thematic areas (View full Policy Briefing).
First, geological and geophysical analysis has identified two palaeo-channels (ancient, buried rivers) with significant groundwater resources to contribute to water-related growth and provision of water services to people. Results highlight wider UPGro findings of the critical nature of extreme rainfall disproportionately contributing to recharge replenishing aquifers after droughts. Protecting recharge zones is essential for sustainable management of this ‘new’ resource, and coupled with monitoring and enforcement, can avoid land use planning mistakes. Due to the proximity to the coast, unregulated groundwater abstraction may lead to saline intrusion which underlines the potential importance of the opportunity that Kenyan partners now have to continue the Environmental Monitoring Strategy developed and tested by the project.
Second, the 2016-17 drought showed the exceptional and unpredictable stress that can suddenly be placed on groundwater resources. The hydrogeological model developed by the project provides the first system-level tool which can be used to support improved management and allocation of resources across multiple and competing groundwater users. This requires improved inter-agency cooperation between the Kwale County Government, Water Resources Authority, National Drought Management Authority, Kenya Meteorological Department and other stakeholders. Immediate steps to deepen priority, shallow dug-wells used by communities would reduce the risk of them drying up and avoid significant social costs, largely borne by poor people. Emergency supplies need to be planned and budgeted for, in the absence of adequate planning, which is a costly response but necessary as expensive vended water costs are absorbed by those least able to pay or least responsible for governance failures.
Third, three rounds of socio-economic surveys were administered in 2014, 2015 and 2016 across 3,500 households across Lunga Lunga, Msambweni and Matuga sub-Counties. Analysis which models the most significant factors to improve household welfare identified four key areas for interventions: a) end open defecation, which occurs in around one third of households, b) increase education attainment from primary to at least secondary level, c) accelerate access to energy services, and d) improve rural water services.
Fourth, linked to improving rural water services and drought resilience, the project has been part of a wider initiative to design and test a performance-based maintenance service for rural water supply infrastructure since 2014. The FundiFix model guarantees repairs to broken infrastructure in three days based on community, school or clinic payment contracts. Currently, 85 handpumps are registered serving 13,000 people, including 4,000 school children, with 99% of repairs completed in less than a day. A Water Services Maintenance Trust Fund was established in 2014 to address the funding gap and test a hybrid financial model blending user, investor and government support. To date, users are paying with private sector support from Base Titanium Limited and doTERRA. These two companies have long-term investments in the county in mining and agriculture and have been founding investors to incubate the model to avoid the traditional approach of building infrastructure with no maintenance provision wasting resources and leaving the poor no better off.
Stakeholders from government, academia, communities, private sector and NGOs discussed these recommendations to identify priority actions against the feasibility of delivery in the next three years. The findings (see bubble figure below) identify the preferences from those stakeholders present. Action is already being taken by county government which has reviewed the project findings and is developing a plan to test the northern palaeo-channel resources in four locations. With a strong evidence base and clear policy messages, wider action is being planned to improve groundwater and welfare outcomes in Kwale County with lessons and methods under consideration nationally.
Download full presentation from Gro for GooD project Final Stakeholder Workshop – 22nd November 2018
Prepared by the Gro for GooD team
Project partners:
University of Oxford (OU) – Grant NE/M008894/1University of Nairobi (UoN)
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Groundwater Hydrology Group
Water Resources Authority – Kenya
Project contacts
Prof. Rob Hope, University of Oxford, UK – robert.hope@ouce.ox.ac.uk
Eng. Mike Thomas, Rural Focus Limited, Kenya – mike@ruralfocus.com
“A participatory methodology for future scenario analysis of sub-national water and sanitation access: case study of Kisumu, Kenya” by Heather Price, Lorna. G. Okotto, Joseph Okotto-Okotto, Steve Pedley & Jim Wright: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2018.1500343 from the UPGro Catalyst Project “Sustaining groundwater safety in peri-urban areas”
Context:
Key Points:
Related UPGro work on urban groundwater or groundwater for urban areas:
A new paper has been published from the UPGro Gro for GooD project, working in Kenya, which develops the work done under the UPGro Catalyst Project on mapping groundwater quality, which developed an exciting new low-cost, real-time method of measuring microbial contamination of groundwater.
Context:
Key Points: –
Read the full paper (open access) here:
Nowickia, S., D. J.Lapworth, J.S.T. Ward, P. Thomson & K. Charles (2019) Tryptophan-like fluorescence as a measure of microbial contamination risk in groundwater, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 646, 1 January 2019, Pages 782-791 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.274
If you are interested in finding out more on safe water and water quality monitoring then you watch these RWSN webinar recordings from late last year:
Interview by Isaiah Esipisu, PAMAC news agency http://www.pamacc.org
Jacob Katuva is a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford’s School of Geography and Environment. His research focuses on community groundwater access and poverty in Kenya. Katuva holds a M.Sc. in Environmental and Biosystems Engineering from the University of Nairobi and a B.Sc. in Water and Environmental Engineering from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
Previously, the scientist spent over four years working as a consultant in engineering and development in the Eastern Africa region. He has vast experience in design-construction-operation and management of community rural water supply schemes, hydrological analyses, rainfall-runoff modelling and water balance models.
His experience in water resources management covers water resources assessments, developing and linking Management Information Systems (MIS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and advanced geo-statistics to water resources planning and management as well as hydropower feasibility studies, evaluation and impact studies of WASH programs, rural water supply and pollution studies in the context of the mining, irrigation and the water sectors in rural Kenya.
Q. How did you get involved with the UPGro project?
I joined UPGro back in 2013 when I was consulting with Rural Focus Ltd during the implementation of the catalyst project led by Oxford University. I was heavily involved in the set-up of the environmental monitoring network and the socio-economic surveys. This provided a great deal of natural and social science data regarding groundwater level and quality, water usage, health and welfare indicators paving way for an interdisciplinary study. I ended up applying for the D.Phil. programme at Oxford University to research groundwater and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa with a particular focus on coastal Kenya. I was fortunate to obtain additional funding from Base Titanium, a mining company working in Kenya which is one of the partners in Oxford University’s UPGro consortium project Gro for GooD.
Q. Tell us about your studies at the Oxford University and how it relates to the UPGro project
My research at Oxford University explores the links between groundwater and poverty. Understanding groundwater and poverty linkages is critical to unlocking the potential of groundwater for poverty reduction. Central to accelerating and sustaining Africa’s development is improving the understanding of how improved access to groundwater resources can benefit the poor. This includes identifying the role of groundwater on productive uses such as livestock watering and crop irrigation, examining the relationship between poverty and changes in groundwater levels, and understanding how groundwater dependency and access to sufficient, affordable, reliable, safe, good quality water and physical access are linked to the socio-economic development of households. These dimensions are pertinent to policy and practice in poverty reduction.
Q. What are some of the early findings for your research?
There is evidence that the depth of boreholes and poverty are associated: We saw wealthier households being associated with deeper groundwater sources while poorer households were associated with shallower wells and boreholes. However, due to the cumulative nature of the volumetric data from the handpump water data transmitters (http://www.oxwater.uk/technology.html) we could not disassociate the handpump usage per household since the transmitter, similar to a water meter, recorded the volume abstracted for each handpump and not volume abstracted by each household.
Q. What kind of advice would you give to the County Government of Kwale about groundwater, given your experience so far?
The UPGro project has generated pertinent knowledge on water services delivery in Kwale County and has identified pathways to poverty reduction. Two of the preliminary findings in Kwale include the discovery of paleochannels in Msambweni, empirical evidence of the benefits of smart monitoring and privatized professional maintenance and repair services on rural water supply infrastructure.
This discovery of paleochannels by Professor Olago of the University of Nairobi and his team, can accelerate achieving universal and equitable access to safe drinking water services for the County population. County should invest time and resources in understanding this resource and how it can be exploited to meet the ever-growing water needs for the county.
The County government should embrace the professional maintenance and repair services on rural water supply infrastructure to ensure rural communities, health centres and school children enjoy equitable access to safe drinking water.
This model of maintaining rural water services has been developed and tested in Kwale and Kitui County with positive results. The model is called the FundiFix model and more details can be found here: https://reachwater.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Fundifix-booklet-WEB.pdf. To accelerate poverty reduction, the County government should ensure borehole drilling and equipping standards are adhered to, communities water infrastructure receive preventive maintenance and professionalized repair services to keep water flowing.
Q. What is your message to upcoming scientists who are interested in your area of specialization?
I would urge upcoming scientists in Kenya to progressively broaden their research to incorporate both the social and natural sciences. Integrating the two, thereby widening our understanding of the socio-ecological systems, will lead to the development of much more effective policies informed by the needs of the people.
Q. What are your future plans beyond the UPGro project?
Part of my future plans includes seeing the completion, implementation and operationalization of the findings of the UPGro project here in Kwale so that our groundwater resources can benefit everyone here, in particular the poor. In addition I will be excited to contribute to framing the poverty reduction policies and strategies for the County building on the evidence emerging from the longitudinal socio-economic studies over the last four years.
Interview by Isaiah Esipisu; Images by Nancy Gladstone/Gro for GooD project
If missed recent papers published from the UPGro Gro for GooD study, then you can get up to speed with the key points in these new briefs from Oxford University:
and from related non-UPGro research:
Speed Read:
“You have a very great opportunity through your water clubs, guided by your teachers who are here and who can support you. We should take this as a very special opportunity for all of us”
The UPGro Gro for GooD project has been delivering a programme of engagement to teach young people in Kwale County about water science and management. Water Clubs at 3 secondary schools have been participating in field trips, practical activities, experiments and conducting their own group research projects. This outreach work aims to develop students’ research and communication skills and showcase career options in the water sector.
In the run up to World Water Day 2018, the Gro for GooD project was delighted to welcome Madam Bridget Wambua, Director of Education for Kwale County, Kenya, to provide opening remarks (extract above) at a special event to celebrate the success of the Schools Water Clubs supported by the project over the last year. As the event got going, students listened with great interest to the keynote speech by Prof. Dan Olago from the University of Nairobi, and then took to the stage themselves for a series of presentations about club activities including water quality testing of school waterpoints, the installation and use of rain-gauges on school grounds, and field trips to the Base Titanium mine to see how the mine manages and recycles water in its operation.
Other students presented their own mini-research projects into topics such as water conservation in agriculture and strategies for keeping water safe to drink, and one group gave an excellent explanation of artesian wells based on an email exchange with Gro for GooD hydrogeologist Mike Lane.
Students also brought practical demonstrations and posters to show in the teabreak, including a solar still demonstration from a group of students who had just heard that they are through the local round and have been invited to show their improved solar still design at Kenya’s National Science Fair for schools.
Madame Wambua and Professor Dan Olago then presented the schools, water clubs and club patrons with certificates of appreciation for their hard work and dedication to water-related environmental education, and 2 laptops were given to each club. The laptops were provided by the UK charity IT Schools Africa and preloaded with water-related environmental education resources collated by the Gro for GooD team.
Students also received print copies of a newly published Water Module Student Resource which was developed by the Gro for GooD research team with input from students and teachers at the schools. Mr Joseph Kimtai, teacher and club patron at Kingwede Girls Secondary School, said,
“I find this module of activities about water so helpful to the students – it complements what we are teaching in class. It also encourages critical thinking and solving problems related to the environment which is in line with one of the competencies of the incoming competency-based curriculum for Kenyan schools.”
The resource has been published under a Creative Commons licence so that other educational programmes in Kenya can make use of the content.
Co-author of the Water Module, Nancy Gladstone, said:
“It has been a privilege to work with secondary school students in Kwale County and help to meet their really encouraging thirst for knowledge about water. Education has a vital role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal for water and we are sure that many of these students will put their learning to good use at school and as they go on to jobs and further education.
“The Water Module event also provided us with an opportunity to thank the teachers, headteachers and local partner organisations such as Base Titanium and Rural Focus Ltd. who have all been critical to the success of the clubs this past year, and to contribute to discussions about building the water module into ongoing education programmes in Kwale County, both formal and informal, so as to reach more students and further enhance learning.”
Further info:
Groundwater is essential for economic growth and can contribute to human development if resources are used sustainably to benefit the poorest in society. The Gro for GooD (Groundwater Risk Management for Growth and Development) project is striving to help government and groundwater users find a management approach that balances human health, economic growth, and resource sustainability demands and benefits everyone. Project partners are University of Oxford, University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Rural Focus Ltd., Kwale County Government, the Government of Kenya’s Water Resources Authority, Base Titanium and KISCOL.
For more information please contact:
Photo: Presentation of certificates by Madam Bridget Wambua, Director of Education, Kwale County (Photo: P. Thomson, University of Oxford)
by Dr Tim Foster (from the Oxwater blog)
Having just published the fourth instalment in a series of papers examining rural supply sustainability on the south coast of Kenya, it is timely to reflect upon some of the common threads that emerge from these related but discrete studies. Throughout our investigations we have examined rural water sustainability – and the determinants thereof – from all sorts of angles, including repair time, household financial contributions, revenue collection longevity, water source preferences, and – most recently – operational lifespan.
Continue reading Long lasting rural water supplies in tough environments: lessons from Kenya
