BGR supports Burundi and Zambia in groundwater management

Good groundwater quality is central to water supply in many countries around the world. On the occasion of the International World Water Day on March 22, 2019, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) pointed this out emphatically once again.

The theme of the international World Water Day 2019 is "Leaving no one behind". BGR Director of the Division Groundwater and Soils, Prof. Dr. Thomas Himmelsbach emphasizes: "Good groundwater quality as a basis for local water security is particularly important for the often disadvantaged population in rural areas and at the margins of rapidly growing mega-cities.” BGR is currently working with the relevant national partners in several African countries to improve groundwater quality and better protection of groundwater resources

Burundi and Zambia are also among the countries where BGR is engaged on. For the rural population in Burundi as well as for the population in suburban areas in Zambia, the privately owned wells, mostly hand-dug wells, are the only reliable water resource for the drinking water supply. BGR-expert Himmelsbach adds: "Without adequate groundwater quality and preventive protection of groundwater resources and respective catchment areas, people can be exposed to significant health risks from water-borne diseases."

Burundi:
In order to provide also in the future a safe water supply to the growing population of Burundi it is necessary to study the quantity and quality of groundwater resources. Today Burundi’s water supplies rely largely on the utilisation of some 25,000 springs. Together with the national partner, the Geographical Institute of Burundi (IGEBU), BGR assesses groundwater quantities and quality in pilot areas. In Kirundo in northern Burundi, well locations were developed and designed based on hydrogeological and geophysical surveys. The aquifers at the well sites have moderate hydraulic permeabilities. However, the water quality of the investigated groundwater does not meet in all cases the WHO criteria: Locally elevated fluoride and uranium concentrations make the water unsuitable for human consumption. In the Gitega region, Escherichia coli (E.coli) and enterococci bacteria were found in some springs. In order to better protect these springs from anthropogenic contamination, BGR and its local partner developed proposals for groundwater protection zones for springs and wells. In Rumonge, southwestern Burundi at the Lake Tanganyika new exploration boreholes were drilled and aquifers have been found with high hydraulic permeabilities.

Zambia:
In 2017, a cholera epidemic broke out in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Cholera has been endemic in Lusaka since the beginning of the last century. Between October 2017 and April 2018, approximately 6,000 people were affected, primarily due to a lack of sanitary conditions and wastewater treatment. Most infections were detected in informal settlements on the outskirts of the city, where poor hygiene conditions predominate and sanitation systems are insufficient. Here, the wastewater is discharged directly into the underlying aquifer. Especially in these suburban areas and informal settlements, drinking water is often extracted directly from shallow wells without any treatment. At least 70% of the population of Lusaka rely on groundwater mainly from the local karst aquifer "Lusaka Dolomite". In order to reduce the risk of further spread of the epidemic, BGR, in cooperation with its Zambian partner, the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) and others, has highlighted these links between lack of sanitation and possible groundwater contamination and advocated for better groundwater protection through the designation of priority zones for groundwater protection.

In the run-up to the World Water Day 2019, BGR will take part in a BMZ stakeholder forum "Water - Water Security for All" in Berlin on March 21, 2019.