Project sheds light on underground water

Abstract

Groundwater research I n the impoverished eastern regions of the Eastern Cape many communities remain without a sustainable potable water supply. Rural settlements are often dispersed and located in inaccessible terrain. It is reported that more than a third of the people in the province are without safe water and/or sanitation. Most people in the region are dependent on groundwater from boreholes or springs for their domestic water supply. Often these boreholes have not been sited at the best places for groundwater, as the emphasis has rather been on finding sites close to villages that could be equipped with hand-or windpumps. This can be attributed to the low basic water supply targets of the past (in the former Transkei and Ciskei especially), and to the lack of coordinated groundwater research undertaken in the eastern parts of the Eastern Cape to date.

Authors

Categories