Groundwater Quality and Cost Recovery Assessment for Rural Water Supply: the case of Mpongwe District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia

Mpangwe district is wholly dependent on ground water for domestic and commercial purpose including drinking, although, Mpongwe District Council Supplies the township with piped water, little is known about the quality of the groundwater in the district including the council’s supply horchole. This research attempted to assess the quality of groundwater as a source of rural water changes as well as long term sustainability quantity-wise in relation to the projected demand. Primary data were collected through interviews and water sampling as Grab samples from boreholes owned by council and communities. Households were purposively sampled. The descriptive graphical data analysis was undertaken using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences ( SPSS, 2007 version 16.0) and Ms Excel 2007. ANOVA was also used for spatial variation. Secondary data was also retrieved from various literature, from Council as a water services provider and from Department of Water Affairs. Findings showed that the water supplied was of unsatisfactory quality with respect to biological parameters but was of good quality with respect to physico –chemical parameters. 30% of households sampled showed that water of poor quality is reaching the users. The potential sources of contamination are likely to be from septic tanks, soak-away and pit latrines used as on-site sanitation. The water supply exceeds water demand for the projected period of up to the year 2020. The cost recovery is almost non-existent. Institutional arrangements for managing groundwater and its supply do exist. The challenge is lack of expertise, infrastructure and finance to sustain long term operations.