Groundwater mapping and its implications for rural water supply coverage in Uganda

Groundwater plays a significant role in rural water supply but its development has been made with very little information on the hydrogeological conditions and groundwater potential of various areas of the country. This has not only resulted in unsuccessful water sources but also in resources being spent on very expensive water supply technologies when cheaper and more sustainable ones are possible. This in turn has affected government’s efforts to increase rural water supply coverage, which currently stands at 58 percent. In order to significantly improve water supply coverage in the country using low-cost, simple water-supply technologies, Uganda has initiated a Groundwater Mapping Programme to prepare maps representing groundwater resources in terms of their quantity and quality and summarizing this information spatially. Six different types of maps have been prepared all of which are important in guiding proper planning of groundwater development activities. Groundwater maps are guiding district political and technical officials on the most feasible water supply technology options to consider in various areas and are also providing them with indications of areas with low water supply coverage, which require more attention. The districts are now exclusively constructing shallow wells in areas where they are indicated as feasible as opposed to the past practice of construction deep boreholes everywhere. The people with the lowest water supply coverage are also using the maps to bargain for their equitable share of government resources. It is expected that with the availability of groundwater maps there will be a reduction in failure of wells and cost of water supply systems resulting in increase in water supply coverage and hence more benefit to the people.