GROUNDWATER SIS TO BRING SANITY

IT’S good that government has come up with statutory Instruments (SIs) on groundwater and boreholes as drilling companies will do a commendable job, a Lusaka resident has observed.

In March this year, the Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection launched three statutory Instruments on groundwater and boreholes, Licensing of drillers and the revised raw water fees and charges. The Statutory Instruments (SI) will ensure the regulation of drilling and adherence to laid down standards pertaining to utilisation of water sources. The SI on raw water prices is meant to ensure that the ministry provides efficient and effective management of water resources across all sectors. Speaking in an interview with the daily N ation on the side-lines of the SI, Martin N dawa who recently drilled a borehole with one of the drilling companies within Lusaka explained that the standards of how the boreholes were drilled had really improved. " For example when you pay some of the drilling companies to sink a borehole for 50m -e tres some drilling companies would only drill 30 to 40 metres without putting a proper casing. “It’s important that the drillers put a proper casing in the earth because without a proper casing the borehole will not last long and will collapse,” Mr N dawa said. He welcomed the move by the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) to ensure all drilling companies in the country were licensed. Recently, Drillers Association of Zambia (DAZ) board secretary, Christopher Chilongo, said the SIs would bring sanity to the way drilling of boreholes was being undertaken in the country.

He stated that the move would also contribute in promoting professionalism among drillers hence, bringing value to the coordination of the entire process.