Groundwater Resource Assessment for a Refugee Camp: Malawi

Malawi: New Water Supply Feasibility Assessment

Since 2019 Flow-5 have been working with an international NGO to develop a new, solar-powered groundwater supply system for a large Refugee Camp in Malawi. The camp’s population is continuously increasing and existing water supplies are not able to meet demand. The NGO client approached Flow-5 looking for a sustainable and future proof water supply solution.

Initial search

To begin this work, a desk-based assessment of groundwater supply potential was conducted. This involved collating all available information relating to the hydrogeology of the site and surrounding area. There was a sufficient amount of information available to build up a reasonably good initial conceptual understanding of likely groundwater flow and storage processes in the area. Existing drilling and pumping test data, along with a detailed topographic survey, were particularly valuable datasets for this initial desk-based assessment. The assessment identified five areas suitable for further investigation.

Field Investigation

Flow-5 staff then completed a field investigation in the five target locations. This included:

• Geophysical Survey: ERT (electrical resistivity tomography) profiles to build up a detailed picture of the sub-surface conditions
• Pumping Tests and Water Level measurements: Pumping tests on 13 existing boreholes and water level measurements from an additional 16 boreholes in the wider area
• Water Quality: Field and laboratory water quality sampling at 25 points through the area

These field surveys and tests were completed in partnership with hydrogeologists from Baseflow (https://baseflowmw.org/).

Flow-5 used this data to build up a robust understanding of the groundwater system and make assessment of the feasibility of future groundwater abstraction in each of the target areas.

Narrowing the search

It was concluded that two of the five areas showed good indicators of groundwater supply potential and were the best targets for further investigation. Clear and comprehensive recommendations were made to the client, enabling them to make informed decisions on the best way forward for this project. They opted to move ahead with a drilling programme in one of the target areas. Information regarding the further drilling work is covered in another case study.

If you would like to know more about Flow-5’s groundwater assessments and field investigations, please contact us.