Getting to know drilling water technology services in Tanzania

THE issue of water has become a major concern for the people of Tanzania and the third world countries at large. The government after having seen the escalating problem among its people, decided to transform selected organizations to carry out essential public functions into executive agencies under Civil Service Reform Program. As a result of these government reforms, Drilling and Dams Construction Agency (DDCA) was created under the auspices of the then Ministry of Water and Livestock Development, which has now been changed into Water Development and Irrigation. The firm is a Tanzania’s sole agency that deals with the development of water resources including drilling of water wells and construction of earth-full Dams in order to sustainable allocate available water sources for different uses in the country. The Agency was established in 1997 under the Executive Agencies Act. No. 30 of 1997, and was launched on the 26th of March 1999, (though it came into operation since 1997). The role of the firm is to develop sustainable and safe water sources through efficient means and at a cost effective price, hence contribute to economic growth of the country. This objective is in line with the national objective of alleviating poverty and improving the health of the people in the country through provision of clean, safe and adequate water supply to rural and urban population. DDCA is among the first Executive Agencies established with a view to ensure that water is supplied throughout the country through boreholes especially in the regular areas where the supply is scarce. Specific objectives are to locate and develop safe and sustainable water sources through drilling of deep wells and construction of dams to increase water availability for different socio-economic uses and to provide reliable, timely quality and affordable services to rural, urban and peri-urban population. As a result of a shortage of surface water, it became necessary to exploit ground water through borehole drilling. Out of thousands of water projects that have been initiated in rural Tanzania, boreholes form the majority. DDCA has successfully carried out a number of water projects in the country. Among them are projects concerning boreholes drilling, feasibility studies, design and construction of dams as well as design and construction of water supply systems. Before the firm undertakes its work of drilling a borehole in an area, it normally undergo a topographical survey to determine soil testing and designing of earth fill dams. This is done by a team of professional experts the firm has employed in the field of civil engineering.

A typical example of a modern rig trucks owned by Drilling and Dam Construction Agency based in Dar es Salaam. The trucks are used for drilling boreholes.

The Agency has highly qualified and experienced personnel including, Geologists, Hydro-geologists, Drilling engineers, land surveyors, and civil engineers in fields related to water resources development and management. To ensure an efficient work DDCA’s experts starts with ground water prospecting using modern State-of-the-art technology, drilling operations, measuring yield of water wells and laboratory analysis for water quality, and soil sampling to monitor underground water formations (lithology) Other services the firm executes are the installation of pumping systems e.g diesel, solar or electric driven submersible pumps, hand pumps, training of caretakers on management and maintenance of community water wells and dams, as well as training of hand, electric and solar pumps both surface and sub-surface. Since its formation, the agency has shown a remarkable development by managing to drill an average of 450 boreholes annually compared to an average of 50 to 100, which were drilled per year by the government in previous years before the Agency came into being. Statistics made available by DDCA in the country shows that, over 5,450 boreholes have been successfully drilled by the firm for the last twelve years it has been in existence. For the 2008/09 financial year, the firm drilled a total of 443 boreholes, and out of these 380 boreholes are successful and about 63 were unsuccessful. The boreholes drilled provides water which is essential to life and its availability is crucial to both the industrial and agricultural well-being of a nation. In many African countries, governments have over the years strive to provide clean water to their people. Thus DDCA, having been working together with the international development organizations to establish water projects in rural Tanzania, it has also made it possible the available resources to provide information to their extractions to the directorate of water development in Tanzania. Water supply coverage in Tanzania according to statistics from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation is 53 percent in the rural areas and 73 percent in urban population who are served with clean water. As the human population, industries and irrigation schemes increases, the demand for water increases too and in order to arrest this situation, ground water exploration and exploitation as well as dam construction activities are necessary and DDCA is effective in performing these activities. The impact of low water supply coverage falls primarily on the poor in urban and rural areas where the urban poor may pay high prices to water vendors for small quantities of water often to poor quality. In rural areas, the low water supply coverage manifests itself in low agricultural production and poor quality of life. Water scarcity is therefore experienced in the rural areas where the majority of the people are poor. To rectify the situation, DDCA provides services to all people in urban areas without marginalizing the poor. The agency is willing and has been providing services to the poor villages which are normally unable to pay for construction work. Records show that about 90 percent of deep wells drilled by DDCA are located in rural areas. In urban areas, ground water sources are rapidly developed for individuals and institutions to meet the increasing demand for water supply for socio-economic uses.
DDCA has been able to undertake a number of projects in urban areas including those connected with urban water supplies in regions of Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. The agency has proved to be capable of undertaking the task of constructing new water sources and rehabilitating old ones at affordable costs. The firm has acquired from the government capital assets, which includes operational drilling rigs and earth moving equipment. DDCA is proud to have constructed a number of new dams as well as rehabilitating old ones in the country within the period of its existence. The Mugumu dam project is one aimed at solving the problem of water scarcity in Mugumu town and the surrounding villages. The town is the headquarters of Serengeti district in Mara region. The project’s construction has been revived and is now able to supply water to more than 35,000 residents and about 25,000 livestock in the area. The dam’s storage capacity is about 14 million cubic meters and is now able to supply water for 3 consecutive years incase of prolonged drought. Mwanyahina dam is another project that the agency is proud of, this is in Meatu village in Shinyanga region. The dam was constructed to meet water demand for people and livestock and it has a storage capacity of about 1.5 million cubic meters. Another dam is Kinyambwinga project whose construction provided water to nearly 3,900 people and 44,640 livestock at Kinyambwinga village, Bunda district in Mara region. The dam’s reservoir’s capacity is 108,275 cubic meters of water. New Sola dam at Maswa town is an old one which has been rehabilitated. The dam has been the main source of water to more than 65,000 residents and about 100,000 livestock in Maswa town and 8 surrounding villages since 1974. After its repair, it has an estimated storage capacity of 4.2 million cubic meters. A to Z Textile Mill based in Arusha had its water project which was done by DDCA, and this is to ensure the availability of sufficient water throughout the year in order to increase efficiency and higher production levels by the industry. The mill is a mosquito net industry whose nets are used to reduce the spread of malaria throughout the country. Therefore the project aimed at improving people’s lives. The execution of this project involved the activities such as drilling of three deep and sustainable water boreholes with production capacity of about 270 cubic meters per hour per borehole. The activities at the project also included the construction of two water storage tanks with storage capacity of 500 cubic meters each, installation of pipelines to convey water from the boreholes to the storage tanks and to the factory. Installation of two pumps each with pumping capacity of 80 liters, sand pumping head 75 meters. Construction of two steel water tanks each with storage capacity of 522 cubic meters. Laying of rising main PVC pipes (diameter 25 mm) from pumps house to overhead tank. The agency’s vision aspires to be the leading and most efficient organization in and outside the country in the business of water well drilling and construction of water storage dams, by providing sustainable water sources and ensuring that clients get value for money from services provided. DDCA usually measures the success by the quality of the services that is offered. The firm provides services to its clients according to the set standards deliver not only timely but also quality services, pursuance of efficiency and cost effectiveness in service as well as strong customers focus.
This achievement signifies that DDCA is now able to serve a large number of customers. Therefore, it is one of the reliable institutions in water sources development at present and has won the trust of its customers. The firm’s role in poverty alleviation targets to improve efficiency and effectiveness in delivery of public services through better business and financial management, hence contribute to the economic growth of the country by reducing the total cost of public service. Therefore the firm provides services to all people in urban and in rural areas without marginalizing the poor. The agency has been and is willing to provide water services to the poor villagers who are normally unable to pay for construction works.