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Network
On Urban Groundwater Vulnerability In Africa
UNESCO/IHP
- Division of International Hydrological Programme
under the leadership of UNEP Division of Early
Warning and Assessment (DEWA).
 External
Funds (UN Dev. Acc. Funds)
DEWA
Contribution
UNESCO/IHP
Contribution
Institutional Framework - All the technical and
organizational matters concerning the implementation
of the project will be under the responsibility
of UNESCO in close consultation with UNEP. UNEP
will, in addition to mobilizing funds for the
project, undertake joint programming in preparation
for activities, providing technical support to
the organizatrion of the meetings, clearance for
participants at the meetings, and review draft
reports. UNEP's Division of Early Warning and
Assessment, in close cooperation with UNESCO/IHP,
will be responsible for activities.
Follow-up
- UNEP and UNESCO, in cooperation with other partners
(ECA,UNCHS/Habitat) will promote the use and the
application of the outputs/findings generating
from this project.
The
project on urban pollution of surficial and groundwater
aquifers in Africa is a joint activity developed
in collaboration between UNEP-DEWA, as the lead
agency of the project and UNESCO-IHP, as partner
for the implementation of the project. Furthermore,
the project was realized, in collaboration with
UNCHS/Habitat (UNCHS/Habitat is actually implementing
a project on Water for African cities which includes
six African cities) and ECA who have been involved
as regional and political partners. The project
was developed in response to the recommendations
of the UNESCO/IHP regional workshop on mapping
groundwater vulnerability held in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, 6-8 October 1998. The specific objectives
of the project contribute to:
-
Setting up the background activities to be
undertaken on urban pollution and developed
as a technical framework to the embryonic
network on urban groundwater vulnerability
in Africa;
-
Developing
methodologies for optimal monitoring of the
contamination of surficial and groundwater
aquifers in African urban areas;
-
Policy
options for better safeguarding surficial
and groundwater aquifers in African urban
areas, including pollution and health problems
mitigation;
-
Establishment
of an early warning network for possible water
supply contamination;
-
Hydrageological
modeling of groundwater vulnerability in African
urban areas; and
-
Capacity
building development.
The
project proposal supports the UNEP freshwater assessment
activities in order to provide training and relevant
information as well as suitable data for arid and
semi-arid countries in an area of crucial importance
in terms of freshwater resources management.
PROJECT
OUTPUTS AND ACTIVITIES
a)
A technical report on regional groundwater quality
as a tool for the optimal management of groundwater
resources.
b)
Reports on long-term trends in urban groundwater
quality in West Africa and relate observed trends
to human activities.
c)
Reports on regional urban variations in groundwater
quality in West Africa to be used as a basis for
studying natural processes and as a reference
point for the study of large scale and long-term
anthropogenic impacts.
d)
Technical reports on urban groundwater quality
in selected West African countries with particular
emphasis on drinking water on other non-potable
uses.
a)
A set of country vulnerability maps and descriptive
texts showing the nature and extent of pollution.
b)
Standardized methodological guidelines for optimal
monitoring of wells to serve as early warning
and trend detection system for water supply contamination
in seven West African countries.
c)
A report on the status of urban groundwater pollution
in seven (7) West African countries.
d)
Regional training of technical staff on estimation
of groundwater recharge and on the use of
available softwares on groundwater flow and
pollutant transport to be conducted.
e)
A network established to monitor urban groundwater
pollution in West Africa.
f)
An internet based information system/database
on urban groundwater quality in West Africa
and a network provided to country task forces.
g)
Identification of country taskforces including
all the relevant experts in order to undertake
the various tasks on surficial and groundwater
vulnerability.
h)
A Technical Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding
signed among participating countries.
ASSESSMENT
OF GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY
a)
Country taskforces will be established and a regional
meeting will be organized in Niamey, Niger, in
order to launch field studies in the selected
West African countries: Benin, Cote d'Ivoire,
Niger, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
b)
A memorandum of Understanding among participating
countries will be formulated.
c)
A rigorous selection of the survey areas
will be undertaken.
d)
Software, aerial photographs, topographical
maps, computers and chemical products
will be purchased for an effective
assessment of groundwater vulnerability.
e)
The compilation of data for the
assessment of the major threats
of surficial will be focused on:
Data
on type and location of potential contamination
sources.
Remote
sensing data including black and white and colour
aerial photographs.
Climatology
data including long precipitation records, temperature,
humidity, evaporation.
Hydrological
data: River level and discharges (it is a requirement
to use all relevant available information provided
by governmental agencies, universities, research
institutes and existing projects such as GEMS/Water
project).
f)
The regional network will be connected through
internet in order to ensure, during and after
the project, information and data exchange at
the national and regional levels.
IDENTIFICATION
OF HOT SPOTS AND MAJOR THREATS ON SURFICIAL AND
GROUNDWATER AQUIFERS IN AFRICAN URBAN AREAS
a)
Establish a monitoring system in each country
as well as a regional database.
b)
Compilation of data on physical and chemical properties
of surficial and groundwater aquifers (chemical
and isotope analysis of water samples from boreholes,
rivers, reservoirs and lakes).
c)
Compilation of data on changes in water quality
and contaminants (physical and chemical characteristics,
their concentration, persistence, mobility, dispersivity
and cation exchange capacity).
d)
Field surveys: gauging and testing operations;
water sampling and analysis; monitoring of
wells and boreholes.
e)
Design and draw maps using aerial photographs
and remote sensing surveys; identification
of hot spots and major threats (scanning
and digitization of cartographic maps;
drawing vulnerability maps using existing
softwares or Geographical Information
System - GIS).
POLICY
OPTIONS FOR BETTER SAFEGUARDING SURFICIAL AND
GROUNDWATER AQUIFERS IN URBAN AREAS
a)Identification
of critical areas which may have groundwater pollution
problems.
b)
Identification of human impacts in densely populated
areas in order to minimize existing or potential
surficial or groundwater contamination at the
source.
ESTABLISHMENT
OF AN EARLY WARNING NETWORK FOR POSSIBLE WATER
SUPPLY CONTAMINATION
a)
Organization of national seminars on education
and information for planners, decision makers
concerning surficial and groundwater protection
and contamination.
b)
Organization of national seminars on public
awareness about environmental
protection and groundwater protection in particular.
c) Establishment of a network of trained groundwater
experts in participating institutions.
HYDROGEOLOGICAL
MODELLING ON GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY IN AFRICAN
URBAN AREAS (PLANNED FOR A LATER STAGE)
a)
Testing and adaptation of existing hydrogeological
models.
b)
Training of technical selected in the seven
(7) participating countries for the use of
suitable models.
d)
Printing of the final vulnerability maps,
drafting and printing of the final version
of the project report.
PROJECT
CONTRIBUTION TO OVERALL SUB-PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
NEEDS AND EXPECTED RESULTS
The
project will contribute to the implementation
of UNEP's Programme: Environmental Assessment
and Reporting, and in particular its component
relating to Freshwater Assessment Activities.
It will also contribute to the UNESCO's International
Hydrological Programe (IHP-V) Project: "Monitoring
Strategies for Detecting Groundwater Quality
Problems" that aims at developing methodologies
for optimal monitoring of wells to serve as
an early warning and trend detection system
for potential contamination of vulnerable
water supplies.
The
proposal is within the scope of priorities
of the United Nations medium term plan
(1998-2001), under programme 14 (Economic
and Social Development in Africa) and
wider programme II (Human Settlements).
It will offer a low-cost solution to developing
countries in networking of expertise as
well as strengthening their capacity in
relation to the adverse effects of urban
pollution on drinking groundwater supply
in Africa.
The
sustainable development and use of groundwater
resources must take place within the broader context
of integrated water resources management. Therefore,
there is an urgent need to protect both groundwater
quality and quantity and to take into account
the interconnection of groundwater and surface
water systems. A coordinated effort is needed
to define cost effective management alternatives,
new technology and education programme in the
area of protecting groundwater quality. The top
priority in all African countries is to set-up
appropriate monitoring strategies in order to
define the background situation of groundwater
pollution and future trends.
There
is specific need to:
-
Assess
groundwater vulnerability
-
Identify
hot spots and major threats on surficial and groundwater
aquifers in African urban areas.
-
Establish
an early warning network for possible water
supply contamination.
-
Initiate
a groundwater protection programme in Africa
with efforts focussed on the protection of existing
public water supplies.
-
Provide
African institutions with the necessary powers
and resources for the creation, coordination
and implementation of a holistic groundwater
strategy and policy.
A
variety of approaches to groundwater protection
will be developed, ranging from the enactment
of protective legislation at the national
level to the protection of public supply wells
at the grassroots level.
The
main expected results are:
-
Technical
Cooperation among countries in the area which
will lead to the establishment of regional
network to monitor urban groundwater pollution
in West Africa.
-
Policy
options for better safeguarding surficial
and groundwater aquifers in African urban
areas, including pollution and health problems
mitigation.
-
Identification
and the clean-up of sources of pollution within
groundwater protection areas or wellhead protection
areas.
-
Reduced
problems of haphazard, uncontrolled development
of land and of undesirable activities which
have an impact on groundwater quality.
-
Improved
understanding of the processes of the inter-relationship
between surface water and groundwater especially
the interaction of physical, chemical and
biological processes in the unsaturated zone
as controlling agents in the fate of groundwater
contaminants.
-
Knowledge
of chemical and physical properties of surface
and groundwater is also important.
-
Enhanced
public involvement and development of attitudes
which will contribute to the reduction of
the adverse effects of human activities in
the urban areas.
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