Groundwater mapping “fundamental” to climate resilient water supplies in Ethiopia

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

by Dr John Butterworth, IRC WASH, re-posted with permission

Climate resilient WASH is about new ways of working across the traditional humanitarian and development sectors. We went to one of the harshest spots in Ethiopia, and surely in the world, to find out more.

The small town of Afdera in the north of Afar region, Ethiopia, exists for salt production. Brine from the lake is pumped into simple evaporation ponds and the salt harvested and shipped off in sacks (Afdera salt provides 80% of Ethiopia’s supply). The salt is both a blessing and a curse. For the past few years the town has been dependent on the operation of two small desalination plants that turn the salty lake water into a potable supply. This is high-tech compared to water supply in the rest of the country, and enables the community to get water from stand posts for 4 Birr a jerry can. That’s also expensive compared to elsewhere and its not nearly enough. There are long long lines of jerry cans at the water points.

Continue reading Groundwater mapping “fundamental” to climate resilient water supplies in Ethiopia

UNICEF to commission remote sensing prospection of groundwater in Ethiopia

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

UNICEF Ethiopia plans in 2018 to map the groundwater potential of 41 woredas (administrative divisions) within EU’s Resilience Building programme (RESET II). The methodology used in 2016/17 can be found in the links below:

 The mapping and geophysical prospection ToR has been tendered here:

https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/66814

(Please note that this work is not connected to UPGro and its partners and funders, and we cannot respond to queries about this work).

Stop the Rot – helps us stop the scandal of pump corrosion

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

This week RWSN/UPGro hosted a webinar on:

      • Overcoming the Rural Water Supply Scandal of Handpump Corrosion (RWSN) – Recording (English)
      • Dépasser le scandale de la corrosion des pompes manuelles dans l’approvisionnement rural en eau (RWSN) – Recording (French)

The key points are:

  • handpump corrosion has been known about for 30 years,
  • it is avoidable
  • yet every day, well-meaning organisations are funding or installing the wrong pumps, poor quality pumps or making false savings by not having independent drilling and installation supervision.
  • This can leave water users a usable without safe water within 6 months.

In this webinar, Bony Etti and Jacinta Nekesa from WaterAid Uganda describe their shocking findings from investigating boreholes and pumps (in partnership with  Mitzi Erin Brett, a MSc student from Mercer University and linked to the UPGro Hidden Crisis catalyst study) some of which have failed or become unusable within 6 months of being installed.

Jake Carpenter, a consultant and former Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda describes the history, theory and practice of corrosion issues and provides practical solutions for resolving the issue.

Our discussants, Dr Peter Harvey (UNICEF) and Jess MacArthur (iDE) add their comments on why this avoidable problem is still around and in a lively Q&A session, some positive ways forward are discussed.

Although the examples in the presentation are from Uganda, we know that this problem is happening in at least 25 countries in Africa and Asia and many more.

If you would like more information to help inform and influence either your own organisation or those that you know of that are still installing inappropriate materials, then please let us know.

Overcoming the Rural Water Supply Scandal of Handpump Corrosion

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

Handpump corrosion has been known about for over 30 years, the fact that it is a common problem in over 25 countries is a scandal and reflects badly on donors, implementers and governments.
In this webinar, Bony Etti and Jacinta Nekesa from WaterAid Uganda describe their shocking findings from investigating boreholes and pumps (as part of the UPGro Hidden Crisis study) some of which have failed or become unusable within 6 months of being installed. Jake Carpenter, a consultant and former Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda describes the history, theory and practice of corrosion issues and provides practical solutions for resolving the issue. Our discussants, Dr Peter Harvey (UNICEF) and Jess MacArthur (iDE) add their comments on why this avoidable problem is still around and in a lively Q&A session, some positive ways forward are discussed.

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Le secteur est au courant depuis plus de trente ans des problèmes de corrosion des pompes manuelles. Il est scandaleux que ce problème soit encore récurrent dans plus de 25 pays, et cela nuit à la réputation des financeurs, des chefs de projets et des gouvernements.
Dans ce wébinaire, Bony Etti et Jacinta Nekesa de WaterAid Ouganda présentent les résultats choquants de leur évaluation de forages et de pompes (dans le cadre de l’étude UPGro Hidden Crisis) dont certains sont tombées en panne ou ne sont plus utilisables 6 mois seulement après leur installation. Jake Carpenter, consultant et ancien bénévole des Peace Corps en Ouganda, reprend lui l’histoire, la théorie et les aspects techniques des problèmes de corrosion en général, et propose des solutions simples et pratiques pour les résoudre. Dans la session Questions/Réponses les participants discutent de ces alternatives à mettre en place pour améliorer la situation.
Dans la version anglaise du wébinaire deux intervenants, Dr Peter Harvey (UNICEF) et Jess MacArthur (iDE), apportent aussi des précisions sur les raisons pour lesquelles ce problème pourtant évitable continue d’exister.