Last month GfGD provided two small bursaries to allow Victoria Gill (Aberdeen University) and Mike Rose (Camborne School of Mines) to attend a conference on Hydrogeology and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) at the Geological Society of London. The conference was organised by Hydrogeologists without Borders. On Monday Victoria reported on her experiences, and today Mike gives his overview and thoughts…
The hydrogeology and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) Conference 2014 took place this year on Thursday 5th June at Burlington House, London. The venue included the imposing lower library which was used for refreshment breaks, lunches and poster displays. The room accommodated over eighty people, from a broad range of professions and expertise, predominately hydrogeology and humanitarianism, allowing for socialising and discussion of work. The aim of the conference was to promote links and communication between the groundwater community and the humanitarian sector involved in the practical delivery of WASH projects.
Geraint Burrows (HWB-UK) introduced the conference, encouraging hydrogeologists and humanitarians to work together to achieve successful WASH projects. The presentations given by invited speakers were extremely informative and covered an extensive array of issues. Guy Howard (Department for International Development) was the first invited speaker, with a keynote of how understanding groundwater is critical for an effective WASH and groundwater programme. The presentation highlighted how the sustainability of a WASH project required thorough groundwater mapping, management and monitoring. However, the implementation of the programmes is often difficult as the long-term goals may not always seem an obvious political priority.
Other talks explored the problems faced in developing countries: Emmanuel Opong (World Vision) presented the practicalities of developing groundwater resources in West Africa and reinforced the importance of hydrogeological surveys to locate the feasible point for drilling boreholes, to increase chances of a feasible availability of groundwater. Nick Burn (Water for People) spoke about how the understanding of water resource is critical, in the case of Chikhwawa, Malawi. Both speakers provided valuable first-hand experiences of the people and communities which are affected directly through lack of safe water supply.
Lunch allowed ample time for discussion over the morning’s talks, and viewing the several posters in the lower library. There was a great breadth of papers, including private sector manual drilling in Zambia, temporary drinking water treatment in disaster relief areas and a particular focus on groundwater mapping. Further talks were given, which provided a greater depth to the problems faced, as well as these successes, which had been experienced by delegates. For example, there is a lack of understanding of the changes in groundwater systems in the middle hills, Nepal, due to factors such as climate, land use and abstraction. The groundwater system and recharge processes are understood better by the following processes: conducting water usage mapping in the catchments; groundwater sampling; installation of data loggers; and monitoring of springs. Altogether, three workshops were chosen to discuss the issues and practicalities of safe water supply, which included the topic, ‘Why do water sources fail?’ The argument involved effective ways of distributing money within a scheme, and reasons for why water pumps fail including de-watering and inconsistent maintenance.
The event culminated with a panel session, in which the panel summarised the day’s events, and provided key tips for hydrogeologists for future years. As a Second Year Student in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, this was my first conference, and did not know what to expect. However, I enjoyed speaking to a range of friendly and inspirational people each of whom shared their specific expertise. It was interesting todiscover how a large spectrum of individual skill-sets contributed to the provision of safe water as well as to the education of communities in good hygiene, to bring about necessary sanitation. By learning the vital role of a hydrogeologist to safe water supply and the exciting opportunities offered in the field of hydrogeology, it is definitely an avenue which I would like to pursue in my future professional career.
