If there were no aquifers what would need to be built instead? That may seem an esoteric question given that groundwater is relied on every day by several billion people, but it is important to consider what useful things aquifers are, what we stand to lose if we mismanage them and what opportunities there are to tackle deep rooted poverty if they are used well. Continue reading “Beyond the Borehole: what do ecosystem services have to do with rural water supply?”
Resolución de problemas con los sistemas de agua (en español)
Posters for “Experience VT” Event
This weekend I will be taking part in the “Experience Virginia Tech: Learn, Explore, Engage” event that was commission by President Sand’s to showcase the university’s impact on the world around us. From 9am to noon tomorrow at the VT Inn, I will be presenting the three posters below that document the research and main findings from an impact evaluation I led of an MCC-funded rural water supply project in Nampula, Mozambique. I plan to capture key moments from the event using Google Glass and will post some images and video to this blog and to my Google+ account during the day.
a new phase of RWSN is on the way…..
RWSN is not a formal organisation, more of a shared idea. In 1992, the network was founded as the Handpump Technology Network (HTN) with a narrow focus on…. handpump technology. 22 years on, and this small group of engineers from the Water & Sanitation Program of the World Bank, UNICEF, Skat and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has become a much bigger family.
As of this morning we have 6,301 individual members, 23 RWSN Member Organisations (the newest are Yobe State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Nigeria and the German-based NGO, Welthungerhilfe) and we have an active team of thematic leaders from Skat, WaterAid and IRC as well as a tremendously supportive Executive Committee.
So where now?
Webinar recording – Managing Groundwater: The Political Blackbox
A very interesting webinar from the WaterChannel
Speaker
Frank van Steenbergen (MetaMeta)
Description
Continue reading “Webinar recording – Managing Groundwater: The Political Blackbox”
Launched today: the Guidelines for Resolution of Problems with Water Systems
Why water systems fail part 15: inappropriate technology
Why water systems fail part 14: lack of spare parts
Why water systems fail part 13: users don’t want to pay
Addressing failure in rural water supply in Africa – how we can all do better (Video)
In his key note speech, Professor Richard Carter urged the delegation at the 41st IAH Congress to do more to explain why groundwater matters and why hydrogeological science is important.
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 