9^th February 2022: The Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB) has resumed the groundwater mapping exercise in Gisagara District in Southern Province, Bugesera, and Kirehe Districts in Eastern Province on 7th February 2023.

RWB launched groundwater mapping fieldwork on 5th October 2022, involving different water sector partners.

This UNICEF Rwanda-funded initiative tends to identify borehole drilling locations and is a move toward addressing water scarcity in all eight districts identified as having water scarcity, namely Kayonza, Bugesera, Ngoma in Eastern Province and Kamonyi, Ruhango , Gisagara, Nyanza in Southern Province.

It is part of the study titled ‘Consultancy to Provide Technical Services for Groundwater Mapping in Rwanda’ that will generate a new regional map of groundwater potential to guide the future borehole siting planning and effective development of groundwater-based water supply projects.

 “We identified more than 200 sites with enough groundwater that can help in the establishment of boreholes in the Eastern and Southern provinces, which are more vulnerable to prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall, resulting in a shortage of water,” said Bernard Musana, RWB’s Head of the Knowledge and Forecasting Hub Department.

Musana clarified that eight borehole sites with the capacity to supply 1,000 cubic meters per day were found, and it is a potential source of water that can be used for small-scale irrigation on 100 hectares and domestic use, while contributing to Rwanda’s ambition of irrigating 102,284 hectares by 2024.

RWB also keeps discussions with various partners to introduce technologies that increase groundwater drilling skills.