Groundwater pollution, Tanzania

In Dar es Salaam, the municipal water supply system is unreliable providing water on an intermittent basis. It has been shown that both the municipal water distribution system (due to frequent depressurization) and the traditional shallow wells are subject to contamination from many sources including on-site waste disposal systems. In view of the increasing emphasis on on-site sanitation in Tanzania, it is necessary to investigate the effects of on-site sanitation on groundwater quality. The primary objective of this project is to develop guidelines for the siting, design and construction of on-site sanitation and on-site water supply (dug wells/boreholes) systems in order to minimize the serious water contamination problems. The project will also provide important hydrogeological data on contaminant movement in a shallow unconfined aquifer. It is expected that the results of this project can be applied to other groundwater contamination problems in other African cities where both shallow wells and on-site waste disposal systems are common