Water Supply in Rural Villages in Botswana - Experiences from various Geological Environments

摘要

As an arid to semi-arid country with low topographic relief, Botswana's water resources have to be managed with an overall goal of sustainability. Groundwater is the most important source for the population in villages and settlements which contain about 55% of the country's population. Also the largest industries and livestock farming are dependent on groundwater. A general approach has been established for investigations of water supply to villages and settlement in order to augment the annual increase in demand of about 0.4 X 10~6 m~3/a. The approach relays on the use of modern geophysical and remote sensing techniques combined with drilling, testing and resource assessment for aquifers at depth of more than 50-100m. Experiences in the application of the approach from investigations in two different geological environments sandstone (fractured porous aquifer) and metamorphic sedimentary rocks (fractured aquifer) are presented.