Comparative performance of rural water supplies during drought.

ABSTRACT: As rural African communities experience more frequent and extreme droughts, it is increasingly important that water supplies are climate resilient. Using a unique temporal dataset we explore rural water supply (n?=?5196) performance during the 2015-16 drought in Ethiopia. Mean functionality ranged from 60% for motorised boreholes to 75% for hand-pumped boreholes. Real-time monitoring and responsive operation and maintenance led to rapid increases in functionality of hand-pumped and, to a lesser extent, motorised boreholes. Increased demand was placed on motorised boreholes in lowland areas as springs, hand-dug-wells and open sources failed. Most users travelled >1?h to access motorised boreholes but <30?min, increasing to 30-60 mins, for hand-pumped boreholes. Boreholes accessing deep (>30?m) groundwater performed best during the drought. Prioritising access to groundwater via multiple improved sources and a portfolio of technologies, such as hand-pumped and motorised boreholes, supported by responsive and proactive operation and maintenance, increases rural water supply resilience.

SUBMITTER: MacAllister DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7055361 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature