Dick Fenner attended the first Project Workshop for the NERC funded UPGRo: Hidden Crisis project, which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the second week of September. The project is addressing the reasons why many boreholes and water points in Africa fail shortly after construction, and is aiming to develop a more complete understanding of how to keep water flowing from boreholes, which will reduce waste and improve water services for Africa's poorest communities. The work is based on three countries: Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi and in its first stage will undertake surveys of around 200 water points in each country. The Workshop brought together all the project partners from Africa as well as from the UK, Australia and Water Aid.
More details of the Hidden Crisis project, which is being led by the British Geological Survey, can be found at: http://upgro.org/consortium/hidden-crisis2/