Cost, Difficulty Prevent Africans from Getting to Underground Water

Cost, Difficulty Prevent Africans from Getting to Underground Water

A recent study suggests that ground water is an answer to water shortages¹ in African countries south of the Sahara Desert.

This finding could help millions of people in an area which is expected to be strongly affected² by climate change.

WaterAid, an international non-profit group, and the British Geological³ Survey (BGS), a British government organization, carried out the research. It found that underground water could help African countries deal with at least five years of drought.

The report released in March said underground water could help develop agriculture in the area. Additional water resources could help farming in an area where only three to five percent of agricultural land is irrigated⁵.

For example, BGS information shows Senegal has an aquifer⁶, or underground water supply, that has been kept in good condition by years of rainfall. But getting to the water is difficult and costly⁷. Experts say it is hard to find scientists who are trained at finding underground water.

Tata Bathily is a village in northern Senegal. When a well there began to dry up in 2010, the government dug another one. That well began to dry up too. Then the town raised $5,000 to dig a new well last year. But that well also failed.

The most dependable aquifers⁸ can be 400 meters underground. That is 10 times deeper than the Tata Bathily wells. Building a well that deep costs about $20,000.

"We don't drink enough to satisfy our thirst," said Oumou Drame. She added that they do not wash themselves or their clothes. She is 40-years-old and a mother of five. She wakes up before the sun rises every day to get what is left from the old well before it runs dry in a few hours.

"We don't sleep at night, we leave our children [at home] to fetch water. From very early in the morning until now we are looking for water," said Drame, after transporting up a near-empty water can from the well.

Finding water

Wells that no longer work are common in the hot and dry area called Matam where Tata Bathily is found. Temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius⁹. Communities there guess where to dig a well. When they are wrong, women and children have to go even farther in search of a few liters of water.

In villages visited by Reuters, local people said that the growing population and unpredictable rainfall have reduced supplies.

"The story for Senegal is that the good quality groundwater may not be exactly where you want it to be," said Alan MacDonald. He is a scientist who studies water resources at the BGS.

International water experts and leaders gathered in Senegal's capital Dakar in March for a meeting of the World Water Council. They called for better availability of drinking water for those who live beyond the reach of piped water networks.

That same week, local people in Tata Bathily, about 700 kilometers away in the northeast, were digging in a dry river bed a few kilometers from the village. They were collecting the dirty water that was available there.

Children quickly drank it, even though it made them sick.

Words in This Story

drought – n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

irrigate⁴ – n. to supply (something, such as land) with water by using artificial means (such as pipes)

thirst – n. a feeling or need to drink water or some other drink

fetch – v. to go after and bring back (someone or something)

guess – v. to form an opinion or give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it

1 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 geological   

adj.地质（学）的

参考例句：

• aeons of geological history 数以亿万年计的地质史
• The workers skirted the edge of the cliff on a geological survey. 工人们沿着崖壁作了一次地质勘察。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。

5 irrigated   

[医]冲洗的

参考例句：

• They irrigated their crops with water from this river. 他们用这条小河里的水浇庄稼。
• A crop can be sown, weeded, irrigated, and fertilized uniformly. 一种作物可以均匀一致地进行播种，除草，灌溉和施肥。

6 aquifer   

n.含水土层

参考例句：

• An aquifer is a water-bearing rock stratum such as sandstone and chalk.地下蓄水层是一些有水的岩石层，如沙岩和白垩岩。
• The wine region's first water came from an ancient aquifer.用来灌溉这个地区葡萄园的第一批水来自古老的地下蓄水层。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 aquifers   

n.地下蓄水层，砂石含水层( aquifer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And in Africa, the aquifers barely recharge at all. 非洲的地下水开采以后几乎得不到补充。 来自时文部分
• Aquifers have water contents over 30%. 含水层的水含过30％。 来自辞典例句

9 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。