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category: Health, Rights and Society, Zambia
Study roots for enhancing proper use of ground Water 0
Nov18

Research published this month by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) shows that hundreds of millions of urban people in such countries already depend on this hidden resource.

“Water taken directly from wells rather than being piped to users from surface-water supplies such as rivers and reservoirs is rarely taken into account, and it is therefore being used invisibly. This might mean that it is being used unsustainably but it might also mean that groundwater has even greater potential to supply poor communities than is currently thought,” the research says.

The study titled Groundwater, self supply and poor urban dwellers: A review with case studies of Bangalore and Lusaka, is based on a paper presented from a review of literature sub-substantiated by two case studies of Bangalore, India, and Lusaka, Zambia, carried out by Dr. Jenny Grönwall, a freelance researcher, Mr. Martin Mulenga a senior researcher at IIED and Dr. Gordon McGranahan, head of the Human Settlements Group at IIED.

The research says that hundreds of millions of people in low-income urban settlements rely on wells for drinking and other domestic purposes. However efforts to enhance the quality, reliability and sustainability of these water sources receive little attention, locally and internationally.

It continues to say that the implicit justification is that wells do not provide adequate water, but that little can be done to improve these supplies as they are essentially a residual that needs to be eliminated by the continued expansion of piped water systems.

It estimates that almost a third of urban households in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia rely on groundwater from local wells, and the share is considerably higher among poorer households.

It warns that policymakers, donors and others have neglected poor people’s dependence on wells, and urges action to ensure that people can use groundwater in a safe and sustainable way.

“The policy trend is to promote the use of piped water but as our research shows, large proportions of urban populations are not served and must supply themselves with groundwater from wells,” says co-author Dr Jenny Grönwall. “Unfortunately most official statistics, including those that measure progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goal on water, fail to acknowledge the value of different kinds of wells.”

Dr Grönwall adds: “It is critical that the neglect of this resource ends, as research suggests that climate change will make groundwater increase in importance in large parts of the world, not least in the urban areas of developing nations.”

She says one problem is that the UN Millennium Development Goal system defines wells as being ‘improved’ or ‘unimproved’ when these terms do not reflect real differences in the importance of wells and can in fact condemn vital sources of water.

By Lilian Museka - Continue Reading on News From Africa

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