Dan Sharpe: The Importance of Quaternary Mapping in Global Development

After a busy summer of various field projects, Dan Sharpe is back and starts this terms blog posts by looking at the importance of Quaternary mapping... 

Quaternary mapping is a technique not taught on many undergraduate geoscience courses, however it is one that is vital in the field of global development. Mapping Quaternary deposits can tell us whether an area of ground is unstable, problematic (in terms of future development) or a good aquifer and thus is crucial in construction and planning, along with natural hazard protection and water resource management.

Quaternary is the name given to the final epochs of the Cenozoic era; the Pleistocene, the Holocene and the slightly more controversial current Anthropocene (an informal term for the period of human interference on our planet). In other words, roughly the past 2.5-2.6 million years (a tiny fraction of the 4.54 billion years the Earth has existed). Mapping these deposits show the levels of interference of surface processes such as glaciation, desertification, floods and even surface geochemistry and can be a crucial component in understanding a hazard or resource.

Natural Hazards

The type of surface deposit can be a very important control on the intensity of a natural hazard. In particular, the porosity of a soil can seriously affect the flood risk in an area, and mapping this can highlight areas under threat. In developing nations, flooding proves a huge setback in physical development and loss of lives - particularly in southern Asia with the presence of the El Nino and frequent typhoons. Understanding and mapping areas at risk can not only reduce the loss of life during periods of flooding but also mitigate the damage to infrastructure, meaning that there is less need to repair but focus can instead be placed on development.

Marco Dormino/ UNDP

Indeed soils and more specifically soil porosity and consolidation play an important role in other hazards too. The Haiti earthquake of 2010 killed over 300,000 people. One of the major problems in the area was that many of the poorly constructed homes were built on unconsolidated land that liquified during shaking (for details see this information sheet). Liquefaction occurs in almost every earthquake on some scale but in this example an area large enough to cause serious harm was affected, and thus large scale failure of buildings and roads occurred. Understanding the ground beneath which construction is taking place is therefore crucial in aiding the development of nations susceptible to natural hazards.

Water Resources

Sub-surface characteristics can be crucial in the trapping or release of water, particularly precipitation. Mapping quaternary deposits will determine levels of vegetation and type of ground. Levels of surface run-off or infiltration can be mapped as a result. Potential traps may be identified and provide important information on where water will hold underground and where a resource can be exploited. This is an increasingly vital skill in developing nations, particularly Africa. The World Bank Institute (WBI) released a statement in 1999 saying:

“... over the past few decades, use of water has increased, and in many places water availability is falling to crisis levels. More than eighty countries, with forty percent of the world’s population, are already facing water shortages.”

This is a trend that has not stopped and thus it is crucial that geoscience courses include techniques to find water resources, and more generally gaining a greater understanding of near-surface deposits from recent geological history. 

Quaternary mapping is not yet fully integrated into many courses at universities, but is an increasingly important technique when using the earth sciences to aid in global development.

Training Opportunity: Groundwater Monitoring and Drilling Supervision

Hydrogeologists Without Borders, in collaboration with REDR and Cranfield University, are running a course on groundwater monitoring and drilling supervision on the weekend of the 14th-16th September. This weekend aims to develop knowledge of groundwater, drilling supervision and groundwater monitoring, and is mainly intended for water engineers and managers. The cost for this three day course is £150 (including breakfast and lunch, accommodation not included).

By the end of the weekend, participants should have an understanding of:

• Groundwater movement and storage within different rock environments 
• How to carry out a groundwater monitoring programme
• The process of borehole siting and choosing an appropriate drilling technology
• How to supervise drilling contractors
• Pumping test supervision and how to collect all the relevant information needed to analyse the test
• How to access free professional advice when working with groundwater related projects

 Full details and booking information can be found on the REDR website...

Friday Photo (41) - Borehole in Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA: DEEP BOREHOLE
Clean groundwater is being extracted from a deep borehole in Ethiopia - giving local communities a better chance of staying healthy.

Groundwater Sustainability

Professor Paul Younger, Director of the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability, recently gave a lecture at the Geological Society of London (available here) in which he spoke on the sustainability of groundwater in a changing world. All of us, whether residents of the UK, Europe, or the rest of the world will be and have already been affected by the impacts of a changing world on our water supplies. Factors such as urbanisation, agriculture and forestry changes have resulted in many changes, at many scales.

However, as with many challenges, it is the world's poorest that will be affected most by changes in groundwater by both natural and anthropogenic causes. Professor Younger highlighted the case of small-scale farmers in India who were dependent on their small-scale, shallow handpumped wells for water. As a result of corporations drilling and machine-pumping water out of large, deep boreholes for irrigation purposes (and the Indian government stating that they will receive free electricity as it is for the noble purpose of irrigation!) the small-scale farmers have found that their wells simply don't penetrate the water table anymore.

Small Handpump (Tanzania)

This contrasts sharply with the definition of sustainability set out by Professor Younger - "Enough, for all, forever." This large-scale groundwater abstraction for irrigation has resulted in 'not enough, for the poorest, for the foreseeable future.' In the case highlighted above it is clear that either (i) geologists working on the project did not consider the effect on the small-scale handpumps; or (ii) geologists understood the impact it would have on them and ignored it or were told to ignore it by those contracting them. This combination of poor government policy, corporation greed and either an inadequate or irresponsible hydrogeological survey is desperately sad. 

Irrigation in many cases is necessary and can help subsistence farmers to survive and increase their income, and yet there are far more water-efficient and sustainable ways to irrigate crops. National Geographic, this week, highlighted the expansion of drip irrigation around the world. This method aims to direct water to each crop, thus reducing waste. 

It is essential that the geoscience community, whether working for a large multinational consultancy or undertaking a small-scale community project, takes the time to properly address the multiple users of water supplies within a given area - and considers the impact of any rapid or gradual anthropogenic changes to groundwater on these multiple stakeholders. 

Friday Photo (39) - Clean Water in Kenya

KENYA: CLEAN WATER
Professor Paul Younger, Director of the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability, said in his Shell Lecture at the Geological Society of London that the provision of clean water is the "single best thing to reduce infant mortality."  Hudson Wereh Shiraku captures the excitement that a clean water supply brings in this fantastic picture.
Photo (c) Hudson Wereh Shiraku, 2012
(Runner-Up GfGD Blog Competition 2012)

GfGD Blog Competition (Overall Winner) - Water of Life Project: Safe Drinking Water in Burkina Faso

As mentioned in Monday's post, Christopher Barry is the overall winner of the GfGD Blog Competition 2012. 

Christopher considers Canterbury to be home although his family has lived overseas throughout his life. He is currently approaching the end of his third year of studies in Earth Sciences at Cambridge and takes particular interest in geophysics and the deep Earth.

Although not decided on long-term plans, he intends to continue his studies next year to complete a MSci, which will include a project modelling chemical processes at the core-mantle boundary. When not studying, Christopher enjoys playing music, running, bird-watching and is a member of the Christian Union and the Zero Carbon Society at his university.

Christopher was privileged to be able to visit Burkina Faso recently, a very rural country where a great number of people are dependent on drilled wells with hand pumps for clean water. In Ouagadougou he met Mark Collier, where they talked at length about hydrogeology in the country. Here Christopher presents the brilliant work of Mark and his colleagues:

Burkina Faso, located in sub-Saharan West Africa has a population of 16 million, of which 80% live in rural communities.  28% of its rural population live further than a kilometre from a source of clean water [1]. These people are often forced to use near-surface water which can be a long walk away and contaminated by human and animal excrement. The annual rainfall is plenty to provide for the population’s usage, but for much of the country safe drinking water can only be found in bedrock requiring drilling equipment.

Fig. 1: A wet well.  

Mark Collier is third from right.

(Source: FIA Website)

Mark Collier, who has worked for Friends in Action (FIA) in Burkina Faso since 2005, takes several volunteer teams each year along with a drilling rig to these isolated villages. They work in the dry season to ensure a year-round water supply. In the far west, deep groundwater can be found reliably in the sandstone with little exploration work.  However, for most of the country, groundwater is in fault zones in granite. During the wet months, Mark uses resistivity surveys to locate water-bearing faults, which show up as a negative anomalies in resistivity [2]. Connected fault systems are important because isolated faults are often not sustainable water sources.

The teams use a mobile rig (Figs. 1,3) to drill down as much as 100m if necessary. Using casings and local materials, they protect the upper parts of the well from contamination whilst allowing deep ground water in (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: General cross section of a well drilled into granite in Burkina Faso

Technical expertise in the construction is vital, but FIA also recognises the importance of the relational side of development work. There are several steps that Mark and his team take to address these issues.

Before drilling a well, they carefully consider its location, collaborating with the locals. The drilling site is marked out for some time before work begins. This ensures, for example, that the proposed well is not in sacred ground where it would be unused and possibly offensive. Careful planning is necessary to make sure the well is as easily accessible as previous, unclean water sources.

It is essential for the locals to understand that the well is their property and responsibility after the construction. They are encouraged to help with the manual labour, including the making of the well cover (Fig. 2), a visible sign of their contribution. Mark encourages the locals to take ownership through the formation of a well management committee in the village to ensure good maintenance and sustainability.

During the work, the team camps in the village and share the locals’ food. A Burkinabé – from Burkina Faso – pastor accompanies the team who helps with communication, as mostly tribal languages are spoken in rural areas, and explains the compassionate motives for drilling the well. Through building personal relationship, the locals trust that the well is a good and necessary gift. The volunteers receive gifts from many villages, often local produce such as chickens.

FIA started drilling wells in Burkina Faso in 2005, and have drilled almost 200 holes. Their success rate has increased with better surveying. This last year they had twenty-five wet wells from thirty holes (83%) compared to the national average of 60%. Since 2005, only one of their wells has stopped functioning. In the village of Zitonosso, an existing well (not drilled by FIA) had silted up.  FIA offered to replace it if the village could cover the cost of the hand-pump, about $1500. Overnight, the village provided the funds, and the well was replaced in March (Fig. 3); a testimony to the sense of value and ownership of these wells among the Burkinabé people.

Fig. 3: Drilling in Zitonosso (photo courtesy of Mark Collier)

---

[1] http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/burkina-faso/

[2] Resistivity Methods, United States Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/epahome/index2.html


Christopher Barry was the overall winner of the GfGD Blog Competition 2012, winning a 1:50,000,000 Geological Map of the World with explanatory notes, and a 1:40,000,000 Map of Global Groundwater Resources .

Reminder: Write To Your MP

Clean water and access to good sanitation benefit many other areas of development. "When we get it right [water and sanitation], so much else follows" says Alan Duncan, UK Minister for International Development. Join our campaign to write to as many local MPs as possible to tell them that we believe it is right and good news that the Government is doubling the number of people it intends to reach with clean water and access to good sanitation. 

Find out more about what to do here...

Guest Blog: Groundwater Use and Challenges in South Asia

Donald John MacAllister is a PhD student at Imperial College London, undertaking research into saltwater intrusion - an important environmental and anthropogenic hazard for many communities around the world. He has a background in both geophysics and water management, with a focus on water supply and sanitation in the developing world. Today he shares about some of his experiences in South East Asia, and the challenges of supplying clean water...

Arsenic, Fluoride and Iron are major chemical contaminants that arise naturally in the groundwater systems of the Gangetic plains and affect huge populations in India and Bangladesh. 

Groundwater has been extensively exploited in large areas of South Asia in the last twenty years or so, in response to the vulnerability of surface water to contamination by chemical and microbiological contaminants.  The health problems related to surface water development are well documented. Surface water is more easily contaminated by microorganisms than groundwater. This occurs because the pathways for contamination are more direct and much quicker through surface runoff processes. Groundwater is particularly low in biological contamination because it is protected by the rock and sediments overlying the main aquifer. A lack of adequate sanitation compounds the problem. Infant mortality is a key indicator of the rate of water related disease and in South Asia this was (and often still is) extremely high. As a result a huge programme of groundwater development was pursued by UNICEF and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) in Bangladesh in the 1970’s. It was assumed that groundwater provided a safe and relatively inexpensive source of drinking water. To this day little resource assessment is conducted before a well is sunk.

However in the early 1990’s doctors in West Bengal, India, began to identify the first cases of arsenic induced skin lesions. Eventually the source of these lesions was identified. The source was shallow groundwater contaminated by naturally occurring inorganic arsenic. Only recently has the full extent of the problem been realised. Bangladesh and India face a huge public health challenge in addressing this issue. It is estimated that between 35 and 77 million people suffer from arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh alone.

I recently spent a year in the Gangetic plains working with people directly affected by arsenic and fluoride contamination. I was part of a multidisciplinary team working on health sector reforms in Bihar, India. My responsibilities covered six districts in south west Bihar and focused on key WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) challenges.

One of the first tasks I had was to visit various water treatment plants that had been installed by contractors to the local PHED a year earlier. The plant consisted of a solar pumping unit (, with an adsorbent unit acting to remove the arsenic from the water supply. The water was then piped to a public tap stand. The plant had been designed and constructed by a contractor with a year’s operation and maintenance included in the contract. The village was in a fairly remote area of Bihar and the operation and maintenance of the plant had not been considered beyond the first year’s contract. A local man from the community had been trained at the start of the project in basic maintenance but that training did not extend to more technical aspects of the maintenance of the plant. As a result when the filter needed replacement the plant ceased to function. With the filter soiled and the tap stands damaged the community returned to their traditional, contaminated, handpump sources.

In another example, the local government had installed multiple handpump attachment units to pre-existing handpumps. Again the PHED does not have the manpower or the expertise to maintain these. The complexity of the technology is beyond the scope of the mistris (maintenance man) skills (basic mechanical repairs). However the issue here was different, the pump with the treatment unit attached produced a significantly smaller discharge than the equivalent pump without the attached treatment unit. As a result the pump users disconnected the treatment unit and returned to using the untreated water. The day when I was there, a child was collecting water from one such pump (top picture). It was clear that for this child the work was significantly reduced by disconnecting the filter. The community were aware of the water quality problem, but as there was no immediate health effects they had reverted back to using the contaminated supply to minimise collection times.

These experiences made me acutely aware of some of the key challenges in the WASH sector, challenges such as the selection and use of appropriate technology. How do we ensure the sustainability of the technologies and avoid the problem I witnessed with the handpump attachment units? One way is to involve the user at all stages of the process, from selection to installation to operation and maintenance, accepting however that some level of outside support is likely to remain necessary. 

The contamination of groundwater by heavy metals in South Asia is a huge public health and environmental challenge. It is important to consider whether groundwater is the correct source in these communities with the knowledge we now have? If it is, there is a need for a thorough understanding of the processes leading to arsenic and fluoride contamination and the best way to develop groundwater in regions were these contaminants are a problem. This requires well trained hydrogeologists willing to cooperate with local communities and institutions to help them address this huge challenge.

For a good background reading on Arsenic in groundwater and strategies to reduce its impact see this link from UNICEF. 

Friday Photo (34) - Small Earth Dam in Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA: SMALL EARTH DAM
Small earth dam used to collect and store rainwater, and transport water via a pipe to support around 5000  people.

Friday Photo (33) - Shared Water Supply in Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA: SHARED WATER SUPPLY
A water supply in Ethiopia shared by animals and humans, increasing the potential of diarrhoeal disease transmission. For many communities they have no choice but to drink this water.

Newswatch: April 2012

There have been a few relevant and interesting stories in the news recently, that many of our readers may be interested in:

'Huge' Water Resource in Africa

The British Geological Survey (BGS) have been working on a range of quantitative groundwater maps for the African continent. These suggest that many countries described as being 'water scarce' actually have sme good groundwater resources. Whilst the researchers are not advocating large scale extraction of this water, there is suggestion that the resources can be used in small, low-yield boreholes in rural areas. 

Mexico Raises 'Alert Level' on Volcano

A major volcano in Mexico has begun spewing ash, steam and burning rock, prompting Mexico to raise their alert level. In the past eruptions from the volcano, Popocatapetl, have resulted in many local communities being evacuated.

West African Food Crisis

This crisis hitting many nations in West Africa is impacting many people, and yet has a relatively low profile across the UK. Read more about the drought in the Sahel and the impacts on Oxfam's website.

BBC Panorama

This week the BBC Panorama show focused on the problem of acid pollution into a local river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can find a brief highlight here and the full documentary here. 

Guest Blog: A Hydrogeologist’s Role in Redevelopment

Olivia Osicki is a fourth year MSci student at the University of Cambridge, and recently went to a seminar organised by the GfGD University Group there. The seminar, given by Elizabeth Sharpe of Mott Macdonald, examined the role of a hydrogeologist in the redevelopment of a nation after a major natural disaster. It looked at many of the challenges and difficulties that can be encountered in this nature of work. 

"With the dominance of oil and mining companies on our career horizons, it can often be challenging to think of a valid alternative for a job that uses geology. Elizabeth Sharpe, however, who came to speak to the Cambridge GfGD group, has found a way to incorporate geology and global development, in a mainstream career with the engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald.

Affected Region (Source: Wiki)



Elizabeth completed her Master’s in hydrogeology at Birmingham, joining Mott MacDonald upon graduation. For eleven months in 2007-2008 she worked in Aceh, (Sumatra, Indonesia), working with the American Red Cross as a consultant to rebuild water supplies for 46 communities in the area. The region was in the redevelopment stage following the disastrous impact of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, caused by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake. The earthquake produced a 20m wave, killing 200,000 globally and leaving many families homeless and lacking adequate water supplies. Elizabeth’s role with the American Red Cross was to review available information about local water supplies, combining data from geophysics, boreholes, maps, and water quality analysis to identify available options and present them to local communities.

Global development and aid work is often glamorised in western society, and yet Elizabeth was keen to emphasise the challenges that accompany working in difficult areas with fragmented communities from a different cultural background. Furthermore, the number of aid agencies in the Aceh region, all with different agendas, meant that often there was a severe lack of communication between the organisations which resulted in wasted time and resources. Working in a region which had just emerged from conflict meant that communities often mistrusted one another, and the number of aid agencies they had to work with meant that they had little faith that anything useful would be achieved. A further problem was that local Acehnese people were aware of the large quantities of aid money available and so any work or legislation that was required was prone to overcharging and corruption. The effects of the tsunami three years before meant that the knowledge most relied on by aid agencies, that of local people, was lost or not relevant because so many villages had to be relocated.

There were technical challenges too, including contamination, inappropriate technology, and lack of basic infrastructure. Elizabeth’s biggest disappointment was that after locating an appropriate water source for a relocated village, a road was built by another aid agency through the spring and the water supply was lost.

It is all too easy to think of development work as glamorous and thrilling, but the day-to-day realities and challenges that can be encountered should not be underestimated."

In Focus - Water and Sanitation

Last week it was announced that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target relating to clean water had been reached, meaning that the United Nations has managed to halve the number of people without access to clean drinking water. This is a huge success – access to clean water has significant benefits to other areas of life. It improves community health, increases the amount of time children can spend in school (rather than collecting water), it allows women to spend more time generating income rather than walking kilometres each day and reduces the danger they put themselves in through doing so. Over the past twenty years around two billion people have gained access to clean water supplies – this equates to just-under 274,000 people a day, over the past twenty years.

This work wouldn’t have been possible without the tremendous contribution of a wide range of disciplines, technical skills, lobbying organisations, Governments and funders. Geologists have played their important role, in providing some of the technical knowledge and skills required for implementing water projects.

As has been noted on a number of other blogs and statements (Tearfund & WaterAid), while this is a time to celebrate it is not a time to slow down. There are a number of points worth looking at:

(1) Having worked with communities in water-poverty in East Africa it is important to note that the speed of poverty-reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa is significantly slower than other regions – with around 40% of those people still in water poverty living in Sub-Saharan Africa. There must now be a focus on this great continent, with DFID and other major donors pushing ahead to see universal access to clean water.

(2) The percentage of people lacking access to clean water can only be an estimate, and is likely to fluctuate. Wells and other water sources can break; shallow wells can dry out, and over abstraction of water can lead to salt-water intrusion and well contamination. The funding of water sources must go hand in hand with the funding of water management training, effective operation and maintenance training, and the development of local hydrogeologists to monitor and manage the abstraction of groundwater. It simply isn’t good enough to go and put water sources in communities without the investment in building technical capacity of the local communities, government engineers and geologists.

(3) The MDG relating to water also included a target for sanitation, which is one of the MDG targets most off-target. At current rates, Sub Saharan Africa will take another two centuries to meet their target on sanitation. This is a major problem, and must be addressed by world governments and international institutions. The provision of toilets, sanitation facilities, and sanitation training is fundamental to reducing the burden of preventable diseases. Good hygiene training is also essential.

We hope that this news does not make Governments get complacent about this fundamentally important issue, but causes them to see what can be achieved by an investment in this sector and take a further push to see an end to this tragedy in the very near future. Why not take time to write to your local MP as we approach World Water Day (22nd March) to urge them to take the further action required to bring universal access to water and sanitation. 

Guest Blog - The Importance of Groundwater Monitoring

The latest in our series of guest blogs is an article on the importance of groundwater monitoring, written by Richard Boak, an independent hydrogeologist. Richard has over 30 years of hydrogeological experience, and has done much of his work internationaly with a strong focus on Africa.  

"I attended the launch in London recently of a joint publication from the Institution of Civil Engineers, Oxfam GB and WaterAid entitled “Managing Water Locally”, which encourages water resource management to take place at local or community level. I was very pleased to see that the report also emphasises the importance of long-term monitoring of key parameters such as rainfall, groundwater levels and water abstraction. This is a subject close to my heart – I’ve lost count of the number of times in my career that I’ve wished that basic monitoring data were available. When called in to advise on why groundwater levels are falling, why a well has dried up, or how deep should a new borehole be drilled, then several obvious questions raise themselves. What is the normal seasonal behaviour of the groundwater levels in this area? How often does the well dry up? What are the highest and lowest groundwater levels that have been observed? What is the typical difference between the rest water level and the pumping water level, for different pumping rates? Has the pattern of groundwater abstraction changed recently (increased consumption, for example, or new abstractions elsewhere exploiting the same aquifer)? All of these questions can be answered fairly easily with some good monitoring data, and the longer the data record, the better. Without this information, we are working in the dark, and the risk of a groundwater source failing to live up to expectations rises enormously.

So please, if you are involved in planning a new water supply scheme, or rehabilitating an existing groundwater source, start collecting data now (to paraphrase the proverb: the best time to start monitoring groundwater is twenty years ago; the second-best time is now). Make sure you include access for monitoring equipment in the design of headworks for boreholes and wells (this is not complicated, and is usually as simple as a well-placed hole with removable cover). Involve the local community in collection of data, and ensure that people are trained and equipped to continue monitoring after you drive away. Run some simple quality-control checks on the data before archiving. Use the data, so that you and your successors gain an understanding of how the groundwater system is behaving. Of course, groundwater monitoring is not without its pitfalls, and bad data can be worse than no data. If you’re unsure, get advice from an experienced hydrogeologist on where, what, how and when (how often) to monitor."

Richard has also recently authored a fascinating account of Richard Thornton, a geologist who accompanied David Livingstone on his explorations of Africa, which many of you may be interested in reading.

Resources: Southern African Development Community (SADC) Groundwater Literature

I recently stumbled across quite an amazing archive of literature relating to groundwater resources in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), hosted by the British Geological Survey. This archive of 'grey literature' contains reports, data and maps from across the past century. It is all available to download free of charge, and is a great resource for those wanting background information on previous work carried out in these nations.  

Information exists for the following countries/regions:

• Angola
• Botswana
• D.R.Congo
• Lesotho
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mauritius
• Mozambique
• Namibia
• SADC Region
• Seychelles
• South Africa
• Swaziland
• Tanzania
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Friday Photo (7) - Applied Geological Mapping

TANZANIA: ANALYSING EXPOSURES OF ROCK
Analysing exposures of rock to determine the likelihood of drilling into water-bearing units.
(c) Geology for Global Development 2011

Hydrogeology & Development Conference 2011

Last week I attended a conference on hydrogeology and development, jointly convened by the Hydrogeological Group of the Geological Society of London and the International Association of Hydrogeologists. It was an excellent opportunity to listen to those working in the hydrogeology sector, and think about the role of the hydrogeologist in global development.

The afternoon began with a presentation by Helen Bonsor, from the BGS, who discussed the BGS's work in developing quantitative maps of groundwater for Africa. This work involved collating existing information, and generating quantitative estimates of key aquifer parameters in order to produce continent-scale hydrogeological maps. This work was crucial for understanding how climate change will affect African groundwater. You can read about their work on the BGS website and see some of the maps resulting from their work.

The second presentation by Dr Mark Cuthbert, of the University of Birmingham, looked at recharge estimation in NE Uganda. An impressive data set looking at groundwater levels was used to determine the amount of recharge in the region (i.e. how much water will be added to the groundwater due to rain, losing streams etc). Understanding recharge is crucial for knowing how to manage water in a sustainable manner - making sure less water is being removed each year than is being added each year). 

The third session was a discussion about the role of the hydrogeologist in aid and development. Thoughts from this session will be documented in a separate and later blog.

The fourth session was presented by Prof. Stephen Silliman, from the University of Notre Dame, who presented this year's Darcy Lecture on the 'development of reliable hydrologic data sets in difficult environments' using case studies from Benin in West Africa. This was an outstanding lecture in which Prof. Silliman argued strongly that reliable and scientifically defensible data-sets can be generated in rural, developing locations where access and finances are limited. Through close collaboration with in-country universities, government agencies, NGOs and local communities, Prof. Silliman was able to monitor the water quality over several years, gathering high-quality and reliable data.

The final session was by Prof. Richard Carter, Head of Technical Support at WaterAid. Prof Carter outlined the importance of systematic supervision when undertaking borehole projects, from ensuring good siting choices to supervising the drilling process itself. His presentation concluded that supervision should include being "systematic about observations, measurements and record keeping - generating important information for decision making, assuring construction quality and cost effectiveness, and monitoring the health and safety of all stakeholders." Currently a common strategy amongst many clients is to ignore good supervision, and to load the risk and responsibility onto the contractor - getting them to choose the sites and only paying them for successful wells. This strategy drives up the prices of boreholes. 

It was very interesting to hear this talk (and many other comments), in light of the work we have been doing on the 'Basics to Groundwater' technical paper. This paper aims to build technical capacity within clients that have no scientific background - introducing them to many key principles within geology and hydrogeology. Hopefully this can be used as a tool to increase the quality and ability of clients to supervise the drilling of boreholes, and other technologies. It was also excellent to hear some very strong success stories, and positive news relating to geologists working closely with other development professionals to contribute to reducing poverty and improving lives.

Basic Guide to Groundwater: Introduction

Over the past few months I have been writing a 'Basic Guide to Groundwater' for use by those working on water and sanitation projects overseas - who have not had much technical training or had any advanced study of science. The guide is also well-suited to those who speak English, but it is not their first language - using many simple and clear diagrams to communicate the key principles of geology and hydrogeology. 

The guide is less aimed at hydrogeologists, water technicians and water engineers (who are likely to have had some training) and more aimed at those managing, contracting and supervising water projects. It will give them a basic understanding of many important questions such as where is water stored underground, what are pumping tests, how does the water table change over time and what materials make good aquifers? It is hoped that the guide will improve the quality of decision making by such people, and from that improve the quality and sustainability of community water supplies. 

The publication is currently going through the review stage, with copies being distributed to some key individuals to seek their feedback and comments. Eventually it will be freely available as a PDF from the resources page of our main website. We are actively seeking sponsors for this publication, to fund future work and resources and help us disseminate this useful guide to as wide an audience as possible. If your organisation would be interested in profiling themselves within this guide, then please get in contact via our support page to discuss this possibility.

Over the coming weeks this blog will publish some of the text and diagrams from the guide to give you a taste of the sort of things it will cover.

Archive: Water and Sanitation Posts

World Water Day 2011

Improving access to clean water and safe sanitation and good hygiene practice (WASH) is essential to strong economic and social development. Over the past six months GfGD has been working to raise the profile of this important issue, and have written a number of blog posts on this subject... 

Key Themes - Water Resources, Climate Change & Infrastructure

A look at the role of geologists in a number of key areas such as water resources, improving infrastructure (including pipelines and sewer systems) and monitoring water resources in a changing climate... Read More

Immunisations, Diarrhoea & The Missing Link

An important piece written on the day that the UK and other countries pledged millions into funding the rotavirus vaccine, aimed at reducing the number of deaths from diarrhoeal diseases. The vaccine, however, is only for those cases caused as a result of the rotavirus, accounting for on average 39% of childhood hospitalisations as a result of diarrhoeal diseases. In order to fully address the problem of diarrhoeal diseases there also needs to be significant investment in, and prioritisation of improved WASH... Read More

Crisis in the Horn of Africa

A series of posts giving some background to the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, including an analysis of the role of geologists in providing access to clean water and sanitation... Read More

The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System

An in-depth look at this important water resource in North Africa... Read More

Guest Blog: Hydrogeologists Without Borders

Geology for Global Development (GfGD) is delighted to host their first guest blogger, Geraint Burrows – the UK representative of Hydrogeologists Without Borders. Geraint has an MSc in Community Water Supply from Cranfield University and has worked with a number of NGOs such as the International Rescue Committee, Medecins Sans Frontieres and Tearfund. He is currently finishing an MSc in Hydrogeology at the University of Birmingham. GfGD asked Geraint to share a bit more about Hydrogeologists Without Borders, and how you can get involved:

GERAINT WRITES:

Hydrogeologists Without Borders (HWB) is a relatively new initiative founded by a group of Canadian hydrogeologists in 2005. HWB is a charitable organisation set up with the aim to provide hydrogeological assistance and educational support to areas of the world lacking access to this vital specialism.

Well Jetting (Darfur)

ACTIVITIES

HWB currently has over 200 hydrogeologists on its register; the majority based in Canada, including eminent names such as Dr John Cherry who wrote the famous hydrogeological textbook ‘Groundwater’ (Freeze and Cherry, 1979).

HWB supports six MSc hydrogeology programmes in Central and South America through the HWB Farvolden Fellowship Programme.

HWB is partnering with a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and creating opportunities for HWB members to assist with groundwater based aid and development projects.

CAN YOU HELP?

In the beginning of 2011 a UK based HWB chapter was launched. We are currently seeking to build up a register of hydrogeologists and groundwater engineers within the UK. We are also seeking individuals who would be willing to help with UK based administrative work and fundraising.

If you are interested in becoming part of HWB then please contact Geraint Burrows and visit our website at http://hydrogeologistswithoutborders.org.

We look forward to hearing from you.