Challenges of groundwater resources management in urban areas of Uganda
By
Callist Tindimugaya
Directorate of Water Development, Ministry of Water, Lands and
Environment, Uganda
Overview of groundwater development
surface water covers 15%
of the land area
heavy reliance on
groundwater for domestic water supply
20,000 deep boreholes, 3000 shallow wells and 12,000 springs
80 groundwater based urban water supply
systems in operation and over 30 under
construction.
Hydrogeological conditions
Groundwater management issues in urban areas of Uganda
Groundwater use restricted to high yielding boreholes
Poor land use and waste disposal and sanitation practices
Onsite sanitation systems in form of septic tanks and pit latrines
High risk of contamination of groundwater sources from onsite sanitation
Pollution in densely populated areas and where water sources and onsite sanitation systems are very close
Heavy groundwater abstraction resulting in lowering of groundwater levels and competitive pumping
Concern of urban water supply authorities is decreasing availability and deterioration of quality of groundwater
Groundwater management issues in urban areas (cont.)
Protection of groundwater in terms of quality and
quantity is needed
Sustainability of
groundwater based urban water supplies threatened by inadequately controlled
groundwater abstraction
and excessive contamination load to groundwater
Current groundwater management practices
Approaches employed to address the key
groundwater management issues in urban areas include:
o Groundwater regulation
o Groundwater resources assessment and monitoring
Groundwater regulation
Groundwater management requires a framework for issuance of water rights for groundwater abstraction
Regulation of groundwater done through issuance of groundwater abstraction permits
Permit issued for a maximum period of 5 years
Conditions of the permit varied at any time to protect the groundwater resources from overexploitation
Restriction of drilling of boreholes in urban areas to control groundwater abstraction
Challenges of groundwater regulation
Regulation of a large number of small groundwater abstractors
Groundwater pollution from onsite sanitation not regulated
Sanitation facilities belong to many private individuals and constructed indiscriminately
Ineffective awareness raising efforts resulting in limited appreciation of the benefits of groundwater regulation
Inadequate hydrogeological knowledge about the available groundwater resources
Groundwater resources assessment and monitoring
Groundwater degraded due to lack of knowledge of the aquifer system and or uncontrolled development
Effective urban groundwater resources management and protection requires an understanding of the hydrogeological conditions and groundwater dynamics of an area
Need to evaluate aquifer status, susceptibility of groundwater to overexploitation and pollution, delineation of water source protection zones and identification of priority actions for control of groundwater abstraction and water source protection.
Groundwater resources assessment and monitoring (cont.)
Studies for urban groundwater management initiated in mid 1990:
o undertaken in a few towns:Wobulenzi, Kisoro, Rukungiri
o involve a combination of hydrogeological and isotope hydrology techniques
o main aquifer zones and groundwater flow directions identified, groundwater recharge zones mapped, and impact of heavy
motorized abstraction on groundwater resources monitored and assessed
o key areas of groundwater recharge to water supplies identified and zoned and recommended for protection by the water supply authorities
Groundwater protection map of Wobulenzi
M ajo r a quifer M ino r-m ajo r a qu ifer Im pe rm ea ble M ino r lo cal a qu ifer Im pe rm ea ble
S ca le, m eter s
A rea of high re cha rg e ide ntifie d a s po ten tial
grou ndw ate r prote ction zon es
H y d ro g e o lo g ic al M a p o f th e W o b u le n z i C a tc h m e n t
Groundwater protection map of Kisoro
Key outstanding issues
Studies in various geological environments and understanding key issues on:
o area around wells and springs to be restricted from competitive abstraction
o area around groundwater sources to protect from contamination
o sustainability of groundwater based water supply systems
o relative importance of regolith and fractured aquifers in sustainability of groundwater resources development
