Solutions for Reducing Borehole Costs in Rural Africa - International ...

SummaryFigure 1. Africa: Water Supply CoverageGroundwater is generally a readily available sourceof water throughout Africa. However, high boreholeconstruction costs are slowing progress on increasedaccess. Higher costs are largely a result of usingdrilling equipment with specifications that are greaterthan those required for the vast majority of boreholesneeded in Africa.Using high cost machinery and support equipmentleads to high borehole costs, which in turn results infewer boreholes being drilled. The smaller volume ofwork per drilling rig creates inefficiencies in equipmentusage, and results in increased overheads, driving upcosts dramatically.This field note contends that the current cost ofdrilled boreholes in Africa can be halved by relaxingborehole specifications in favor of smaller diameterbores drilled by more maneuverable, lower costequipment. The average cost of drilling a borehole canbe reduced from USD$6,000 to USD$3,000, and sometechnological applications could bring down the costto less than USD$1,000. These sizable cost reductionshave the potential to contribute to Africa’s attainmentof the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for watersupply and sanitation 1 and the livelihoods of millions ofrural Africans.Clearly, new approaches are required to drill the onemillion or so boreholes that will help Africa to meet theMDGs for water and sanitation. This can be achievedby adopting these new approaches:• Review and revise outdated national standards thatfavor conservative borehole designs• Develop an effective small business sector, madeup of African drilling contractors, based in ruralareas and spread amongst the communities theyare required to serve• Promote new, appropriate drilling technologies• Provide continuity of work for local businesses.Water supplycoverage0%–25%26%–50%51%–75%76%–90%91%–100%Missing dataSource: Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment Report, 2000Who drills in Africa?To understand borehole drilling in Africa, it is important toknow who is doing what, where and the equipment in use.Governments own, directly or indirectly, most of the drillingrigs in Africa, but drill fewer holes than other operators. Nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs) and contractors ownabout half of the remaining machines in operation. Despitethe prevalence of appreciable market distortions, privatecontractors drill the greatest number of holes.Government departmentsGovernment departments responsible for drilling typicallyprocure equipment as donations from external supportorganizations, but may then lack the management skillsand resources needed to sustain a high-production drillingprogram. In many cases, the external support does not caterfor training, operations, maintenance and spare parts.1To halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safedrinking water and hygienic sanitation.2