Overview of Groundwater in Africa

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Groundwater in Africa

Groundwater is an invaluable resource in Africa. Groundwater has many advantages as a water supply source, particularly where populations are still largely rural and demand is dispersed across large areas. The main advantages and limitations of groundwater as a water resource are summarised in the table below.

Advantages and limitations of groundwater as a water resource in Africa

Advantages	Limitations
Found in most environments and usually available close to point of demand	In some environments, considerable investment is needed to locate and develop suitable sites
Generally excellent natural water quality & suitable for potable use with no prior treatment	There is increasing recognition of natural water quality constraints, such as sulphate, iron, arsenic and fluoride
Naturally more protected from contamination than surface waters	As human development increases, the threat of pollution needs to be assessed in relation to the nature of the intrinsic aquifer protection
Large volumes of natural storage & seasonal variations in amount or quality aren't usually significant. More drought resistant than surface waters	Groundwater can be vulnerable to over-abstraction, particularly in low productivity aquifers and/or as demand and the ability to abstract large volumes of water both grow. Long term changes in rainfall patterns can also impact on groundwater recharge and renewal
Lends itself well to principles of community management. Can be developed incrementally, often at relatively low cost/initial capital investment	As overall water supply coverage increases, more hydrogeologically difficult areas can remain unserved, and they become more costly to develop

Groundwater Occurrence in Africa

How and where groundwater occurs depends primarily on geology; geomorphology/weathering; and rainfall (both current and historic). The interaction between these three factors gives rise to complex hydrogeological environments with countless variations in the quantity, quality, ease of access to and renewability of groundwater resources. Developing groundwater resources therefore depends on a good understanding on hydrogeology.

Africa has huge diversity in geology, climate and hydrology, and as a result, the hydrogeology of Africa is hugely variable and challenging to characterise and understand.

Although there is a lack of groundwater information in many parts fo Africa, there is also much work that has been done in many areas of African groundwater. This Atlas summarises some of the key issues and provides an overview of groundwater resources and hydrogeology across Africa, and links to further information. The country pages provide specific information by country; and the resource pages provide a continental overview of issues including:

1. the main aquifer groups (or hydrogeological environments) of Africa

1. recharge

1. groundwater quality in Africa

Further Information

More information on groundwater in Africa is available from the Africa Groundwater Network (AGW-Net) - a professional network of hydrogeologists in Africa.

Quantitative Groundwater Maps for Africa

MacDonald, A.M. & Davies, J. 2000. A brief review of groundwater for rural water supply in sub-Saharan Africa. British Geological Survey Report WC/00/033.

MacDonald, A.M., Bonsor, H.C., Ó Dochartaigh, B.É. & Taylor, R.G. 2012. Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa. Environmental Research Letters 7(2).

MacDonald, A.M. & Calow, R.C. 2009. Developing groundwater for secure water supplies in Africa. Desalination 248, 546-556. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2008.05.100

Africa Groundwater Atlas >> Overview of Groundwater in Africa