Africa online Training of Trainers - on Groundwater recharge and mapping of aquifers and managing sanitation in rural areas

Background: Groundwater is a primary source of drinking water and the invisible part of the hydrological cycle. An estimated 75 percent of the African population relies on groundwater for their drinking water. In rural regions, the infrastructure is limited and access to reliable water source is unapproachable due to different hydrogeological regions.

Countries like Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria have over 70 percent population residing in rural areas where drinking water is primarily obtained from groundwater. But there is not enough safely regulated drinking water in the nations despite enough rainfall. The unplanned urbanization and seasonal and annual variations in rainfall have reduced the natural recharging of groundwater. Even there is an increased groundwater contamination due to natural and man-made reasons.