GROUNDWATER
S Impact on the ground SRK Consulting was awarded an open tender by the South African Development Community Groundwater Management Institute (SADC-GMI) to design a new five-year programme and create an environmental and social management framework. By Kirsten Kelly
Drilling of a highyielding borehole
28
MAR /APR 2021
ADC-GMI’s core mandate is to promote sustainable groundwater management and provide solutions to groundwater challenges across the SADC region. Darryll Kilian, partner and principal environmental consultant at SRK Consulting, says that he was excited to work on this project because of the value it would bring: “According to SADC-GMI, 70% of the 250 million people living in Southern African countries rely on groundwater as their primary source. This is especially prevalent in rural areas, but many urban areas in the region, such as Windhoek and Walvis Bay in Namibia, solely rely on groundwater too. “Despite this statistic, groundwater is seldom managed correctly because it is rarely seen as a resource. It is often managed separately from surface water – even though these two resources are linked as part of the overall hydrological cycle. Groundwater is usually unmeasured and unmanaged, leaving those dependent on the resource vulnerable,” he explains. Managing the resource The demand for water is expected to rise due to a growing population, changing lifestyle patterns and climate. If well managed, groundwater in Southern Africa could ensure long-term water supply to meet the increasing demands brought by climate variability. While groundwater is an abundant resource in the region, its potential remains subdued by an inadequate amount of data on aspects of availability, quality, quantity and abstraction. The limited capacity to predict hydrogeological behaviour and water resource development in sufficient detail over long
