Highlights of marking Water Week, and ongoing projects

THE issue of water has become a major concern in many regions, with reports showing that a large portion of the country’s rural population has no access to clean and safe water. Statistics made available by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation indicate that 57 percent of the rural dwellers suffer for lack of reliable water supply. Due to this situation, most rural dwellers depends on hand drilled constructed water well sources which have shallow water which is unfit for use. Statistics further indicate that, there has been an acute shortage of water in urban areas due to leakage and dysfunctional underground water infrastructure, aggravated by increased demand, installation of haphazard pumps at households or hotels, etc. In order to effectively handle an escalating situation, the government decided to change the way water supply is administered, hiving it out of municipal authorities to become executive agencies, conducted under the Civil Service Reform Program. To facilitate its programs, the government spends 0.94 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Tsh. 468 billion a year on water and sanitation services. The latest report of Water Aid states that the water sector development program has been through a turbulent year in 2011. Water Aid, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) recently launched a water project worth Tsh. 37.4 billion to ensure access to water for five million people during the next five years . Girish Menon, the head of Water Aid international program, said when launching the five year strategic plan that at least four million people will indirectly benefit, while another one million people will directly benefit from the project on improving sanitation and safe water supply. Users were expected to take initiatives in embarking on relevant technologies for improving safe water supply and sanitation services, he said, noting that the project is in line with the national strategy for growth and poverty reduction, MKUKUTA. Under the MKUKUTA drive, the government has set targets in accessing water in terms of percentage of population at 65 percent for rural areas, 57 percent for small towns, 95 percent for major urban areas and 75 percent for Dar es Salaam city specifically, while the sanitation target is 53 percent for urban areas and 35 per cent for rural people by 2015. Water is critical for sustainable development including environmental integrity and alleviation for poverty and hunger. Improving water supply and its sources for human well-being is recognized as among the key aspects of health and welfare generally. Having seen the importance of water, Tanzania government through the Ministry of Water and Irrigation saw the need to celebrate a national water-week with other nations worldwide in mid March. This year’s annual event was celebrated at the national level in Iringa region under the theme “Water for Food Security”. The theme highlights the significance of water on food security and its quality that reflects its cooperation with rural farmers who produces consumable foods and their importance of integrated approach to water resources. A colorful week-long event inaugurated by the Deputy Minister for Water and Irrigation, Gerson Lwenge allowed stakeholders within the sector inside and outside Tanzania to share experiences on development and management of water and sanitation through exhibitions. He admitted that the ministry is faced with lots of challenges and the biggest is where most people lack access to clean and safe water.

A woman draws stagnant water for domestic use. 57 percent of the Rural population in Tanzania have no access to clean and safe water. Describing the importance of this year’s theme, he said that food security is attained wherever there is availability of plenty of water in various areas from rain water, boreholes, rivers and streams. He says that dependence on rainfall for farming makes many peasants get losses in their farming yields, or if there is a long dry spell, crops dry up, resulting into poor harvests. ‘Maji Week’ as it is known is mainly used for dissemination of the water policy strategy and water sector development programs. All regions marked the week as appropriate in the local context, to activities such as promoting of public awareness on water issues through publications and dissemination of documentaries. This annual event permits stakeholders of the water industry to highlight various strategies of getting safe drinking water and promote rainwater harvesting technology cheaply enough. The main objective of the event is to create awareness and sensitize the public on water sector plans and reforms, the importance of their participation in environmental sanitation and water supply programs, evaluating achievements, identifying problems and drawing up strategies for implementation. Local communities have complex priorities for the use of water for economic activities and for household needs. Men and women often have different priorities and responsibilities, while cultural conditions affect indigenous practices and societal values in managing water sustainably. Statistics shows that Tanzania has sufficient water resources to meet most of its present needs, including surface and underground sources. About 7 percent of the land surface is covered by three large fresh water lakes on the borders, apart from other inland lakes. The three lakes are Lake Victoria, the second largest in the world, Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest in the world and Lake Nyasa. Inland lakes are Rukwa, Eyasi, Natron and Manyara, with considerable water resources existing in these lakes. There are also big rivers flowing to the lakes. Underground water is also another important source of water for both urban and rural settlement areas. There is a great variation of water availability between parts of the country. The variation is explained by differences in topography, rainfall patterns and climate. About one third of the country receives less than 800mm of rainfall per annum and they are considered arid or semi arid. The country experiences a long dry season normally extending from June to October where river levels slump and water reserves are tested. Surface water resources in the country consists of lakes, rivers, springs man-made reservoirs and natural ponds. About 50 percent of the surface run water is derived from the main rivers flowing directly to the Indian Ocean and these are Pangani, Wami, Mkondoa, Ruvu, Rufiji, Ruaha, Kilombero, Mbarangandu, Matandu, Mbwemkuru, Likuledi and Ruvuma rivers. The remaining 50 percent is divided into surface water drainage into the main internal drainage basins which have no outlet to the sea. Tanzania has 5,439,000 ha of lakes and swamps which represent 5.8 percent of the totals land surface, but this number excludes seasonally inundated flood plains. Ground water is major source of water for many areas with the most viable found in the central and northern parts of the country, encompassing the drier regions of Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga, Tabora, Mwanza, Mara, Arusha, Coast and southern parts of Kilimanjaro. The Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (DDCA) is an active player towards improving water supply services in the country. Its role as a government agency is to develop sustainable and safe water sources through efficient means and at cost effective price. DDCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Ngaiwa says that, this objective is in line with the national objective of alleviating poverty and improving the health of people through provision of clean, safe and adequate water supply to rural and urban population. DDCA’s vision is to be a leading and efficient organization in the business of water well drilling and construction of water storage dams for sustainable water sources and ensuring that clients get value for money from services provided. Over 4,000 deep boreholes have been drilled by the agency since its launch in 1999. This achievement signifies that DDCA serves large numbers of people as well as livestock, industrial works and construction.