VIDEOS
2 Minute Video of 2007 Mali Trip - Windows Media (18mb) / Quicktime Video (9mb)
5 Minute Video of 2007 Mali Trip - Windows Media (33mb) / Quicktime Video (18mb)
Early May 2007, Dr. Diana Allen (Professor of Hydrogeology at Simon Fraser University) and I (Dr. Gilles Wendling) traveled to Mali to meet the people in charge of groundwater management and to build an understanding of the situation in Mali. In a nutshell, here is what we did:
We met with:
- Housseini Maiga, head of the Integrated Water Resources Management Group (GIRE) and also chairman of the National Water Partnership. He was our key contact and instrumental in organizing the various activities and meetings we had.
- The GIRE group, composed of 6 members (hydrologist, economist, communication, etc.)
- The head of the division in charge of data management at the Direction Nationale de l’Hydraulique (DNH) and two of his staff (in charge of equipment and database)
- The Technical Advisor at the Canadian Consulate (in charge of reviewing funding applications)
- Profs from the Ecole Nationale des Ingénieurs (ENI)
- Profs from Bamako University
- The Head of the Continuing Education Department at ENI
- Mamadou Sylla, President of the main consulting firm (SEROHS - water supply and sanitation) in Mali
- The technical advisor to the National Director at the DNH
- Representatives of the Global Water Partnership
We completed a short visit to a region (Mali has 8 regions) and met the DNH Head of the region and some of his staff.
We gave two workshops including the following presentations:
- Aquifer sustainability
- Aquifer vulnerability
- Water wells under the influence of surface water
- Modeling the Impact of climate change on groundwater resources
- Interpretation of pumping tests
- Well Development and rehabilitation
to an audience totaling over 50 people (including some people listed above + students – including several female students).
We saw some of the monitoring equipment the DNH has (data loggers) and cannot (do not know how to) operate.
This trip really provided us with an opportunity a) to understand how water and groundwater is managed b) to meet the players and c) to assess their strength and weaknesses.
We got a digital copy of their database (historic piezometric levels and geochemistry). We also discussed potential cooperation between universities. An immediate action followed:
- Dr. Allen will direct a Master Student to assess the quality of the database and extract whatever can be extracted (starting in the fall)
- Dr. Allen will co-direct a project with a Malian student, studying the recharge to aquifers in a targeted area.(probably in spring 2008)
On the way back, we had a meeting with the president of BURGEAP (www.burgeap.fr) in Paris, who offered full access to their library of reports for all the studies conducted in Mali. BURGEAP has been involved with water supply projects in Western Africa for over 60 years.
As you can see, it was a busy trip.
Gilles
Global Aquifer Development Foundation
Dr. Gilles Wendling, P.Eng.
youhavewater@shaw.ca
www.globalaquifer.org