GIS Project Helps in Improving Access to Clean Water

A group of university students and two professors from the University of Redlands (U of R) in Redlands, California, went to the communities across sub-Saharan Africa to help map the sources of water in the area as well collected water use information. They used Geographic Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) to classify water access points like wells and lakes.

The maps that were made are useful in providing the local people with accurate locations of water sources. The field collection and their model maps are going to be useful in the implementation of sustainable practices in poor nations. Maxwell Baber, associate professor at the U and R stated, “Anything that we can do to improve water quality is going to have a major impact on the population.”

For 15 days in May 2008 and 2009, the team went on field mapping and classifying the water access points with the help from the local villagers, guides, and personnel from Rwanda National University and Millennium Villagers Project (A project established to in Africa for alleviating poverty in Africa using integrated community driven activities).

Using Garmin GPS equipment and ArcGIS, the students built a database of the water sources and classified them as shallow well, open pit, lake, deep borehole, water tap or cistern. They also interviewed individuals who fetch water in the water access points that they mapped. The survey provided information on water use, household location and size, distance to the water source, and the seasonal availability of water.

This field experience also gave the student hands-on experience in learning how GIS Technology can help in supporting projects that study the relationships between human and environment. “For a few days in May, students had the opportunity to help improve the community’s access to clean, safe water”, said Katherine Noble-Goodman, a visiting lecturer in Environmental Studies at U of R. The faculty and students of U and R continued in editing and revising the project data. They are running analyses and creating spatial models to predict the productivity for new borehole well site locations.

Source:

http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/winter0910articles/improving-access.html