Development of awareness tools for groundwater protection

Inadequate water and sanitation is a major problem in many rural communities. This problem is often compounded by pollution of the available groundwater, surface water and rainwater sources. Sources of pollution may be natural or man made. Examples of man made pollution which occur as a result of delivery are the possible incompatibility of technologies such as pit latrines and boreholes and the location of boreholes near dip tanks to ensure the community have reasonable access to water for the dips. Examples of man made pollution which occur as a result of the use of services are unhygienically maintained boreholes and tapstands surroundings, use of rivers for bathing, garment washing, cattle drinking troughs etc. Other forms of man made pollution occur as a result of local practices particularly where natural attenuation processes are reduced by subsurface conditions. As groundwater, which is adequate in quality and quantity, is critical in water service provision for the unserved, the majority of who are in the rural and peri – urban areas, it is important to put in place measures and procedures for efficient groundwater management. In order to do this, the South African and Norwegian governments initiated a groundwater management programme, a component of which is the development of community awareness tools for groundwater protection.