CHOLERA and other waterborne disease outbreaks have become a perennial problem in Lusaka’s Kanyama Township because safe water and sanitation facilities are inadequate. The recent outbreak of cholera has so far affected more than 12 people while typhoid cases increased drastically last year, leading to closure of schools in an effort to contain the situation. However, the problem in Kanyama and its surrounding areas has to do with the background – how the township came into existence. Initially, Kanyama was a squatter settlement but part of it (New Kanyama) was later developed using the site and service approach that saw improved structures for residents. In other words, Kanyama was an illegal settlement until recently when it was legalised, but it is still unplanned meaning there are no proper services. And because of such, settlers have resorted to providing individual services as long as they can afford. Extension of houses, sinking of boreholes and pit latrines without regulation and monitoring by the relevant authorities is the order of the day. Some residents depend on shallow wells of about two to three metres deep that are so close to the pit latrines, thus making it easier for the two to interact. That is the more reasons why, even without an outbreak, diarrhoea cases are high in this area throughout the year. The diseases break out in the rainy season because the weather is conducive. So as long as the situation is not improved in terms of providing sanitary facilities, some lives will be lost to preventable diseases, as well as the Government spending more money which could be used for other needy areas. The Government has so far released K25, 000 for the Kanyama Cholera centre. This is the money, if the council had upgraded the area, could be channelled to other needy areas, perhaps servicing newly-opened up area that need to be serviced. Imagine in 2010, Zambia experienced torrential rainfall which led to flooding. The floods, coupled with poor sanitation, led to a deadly cholera outbreak which, by March 24, 2010, affected over 2,500 people out of whom 41 died. The worst affected townships were Chipata, Kanyama, Kamwala and Chawama, where up to 130 new cases were being reported per day. The outbreak was blamed on contaminated water from shallow wells which residents in the affected townships consumed. The wells were built close to pit latrines that discharged effluent even before the 2010 rainy reason started. This anomally, as far as water supply and sanitation is concerned, has developed into a problem not only in Kanyama but also other areas. Chalala is another residential area where 80 per cent of its water is contaminated with faecal matter due to interaction between water from the boreholes and discharge from septic tanks. No huge cholera or typhoid cases have been recorded in this area, but I believe it is because of the lifestyle where some households boil drinking water while others depend on mineral water for drinking. Other parts of Lusaka’s Chelsone and Avondale townships have gone for years, in some cases, without water where some residents have resorted to setting up individual boreholes and sewer facilities. A check by this columnist in Kanyama, Kanyama Site and Service, Kanyama Extension and Makeni Villa revealed that the closeness of the pit latrines and shallow wells was like a self-contained bedroom; few metres apart. Some residents have drilled boreholes and erected water tanks but when asked if these were done by professionals, the ones talked to could not provide satisfactory answers. In Ndola there is a likelihood of contamination of surface and underground water due to encroachments. Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company has two water sources; the Kabufu River for surface water and the boreholes in Minsundu which provide underground water to the northern part of the city. But now, the trend is that there are people building houses close to the boreholes as well as soakaways or septic tanks, meaning a likelihood of polluting underground water is high. Moreover, inspection is neither here nor there. That is the level at which underground water is being polluted, resulting in outbreaks of waterborne diseases. But what about the depletion of the commodity due to unregulated and monitored of sinking of boreholes and its impact on the water cycle? Perhaps understanding some basic facts and concepts about ground water could assist people and authorities appreciate groundwater sustainability. The country is made to believe that global warming is the result of climate change induced by industrialised countries yes, but what about the depletion of underground water that plays a critical role in the water cycle? The water cycle or hydrologic is a continuous cycle where water evaporates, travels into the air and becomes part of a cloud, falls down to earth as precipitation (rain), and then evaporates again. Regulators ought to be reminded that the unsustainable use of groundwater stands to significantly impact a host of hydrological, ecological and other natural resources and services. These include freshwater bodies, and aquatic, riparian, transitional, and terrestrial ecosystems. The baseflow will decrease and wetlands will disappear, while streams and rivers will degrade. The channel erosion will increase, and wildlife habitat will be reduced and ultimately affect tourism. Other impacts include drying up of wells, salt-water intrusion in coastal areas, and land subsidence. Like late last year, Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company announced that 50 per cent of the boreholes in the capital city had run dry due to various human activities that included encroachment or lack of planning, simply put. If the once perennial streams are drying up as well as water levels in water bodies going down, what is the reason behind this? I leave that to local experts to explain. Anyway the issue of unsustainable use of underground water is indisputable and can have adverse effects on the environment. Excessive pumping can lead to groundwater depletion, where groundwater is extracted at a rate faster that it can be replenished and is equally dangerous, but does Zambia know the rate? That is topic for another day! Unregulated groundwater use leads to the tragedy of the commons with the eventual depletion of the resource and ruin to all. This is according to Victor Ponce, who did a study on groundwater utilisation and sustainability. The effects of excessive groundwater development tend to become apparent gradually, with time often measured in decades. The sustainable use of groundwater should begin by tapping primarily deep percolation, and secondarily shallow percolation. Percolation is the gradual moving of water through a surface that has a small hole. This is according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. The latter should be exploited only if its effects on the base flow of neighbouring streams and water bodies are shown to be minimal. Detailed hydrological and hydrogeological studies are required to determine the percolation amounts. In the absence of basin-specific studies, global values of deep percolation may be used to establish an initial reference estimate of sustainable yield. Baseline and time-dependent hydrological and hydroecological studies are necessary to assess and monitor the effect of groundwater use on local freshwater bodies, ecosystems, and geomorphology. To guarantee sustainability, these studies should accompany planned groundwater development. A contaminated aquifer cannot be used as a resource. An aquifer is a body of saturated rock through which water can easily move. Aquifers should be both permeable and porous and include such rock types as sandstone, conglomerate, fractured limestone and unconsolidated sand and gravel. But if you look at the number of boreholes that are being drilled daily to extract water underground to meet the growing demand for the commodity, I do not think even the regulators have an idea of the extent of damage this has caused to the environment and water cycle to be precise. Moreover, there is no study so far that has been commissioned to ascertain the extent of the problems. I therefore encourage the authorities to assess the sustainable use of groundwater from an interdisciplinary perspective, where hydrology, ecology, geomorphology, and climatology play an important role. Every effort should be taken to ensure that both groundwater quantity and quality are preserved for the benefit of present and future generations. Until next week, stay blessed and let us keep interacting. For comments: stanslous.ngosa@times.co.zm ngosastan@gmail.com www.stanslousngosa.blogspot.com +260977694310, +260955694310