Men from the ministry

Our work in Kosele is often interrupted by unexpected visitors. This is occasionally irritating but usually interesting and sometimes helpful. A couple of guys turned up today from the water department. They arrived in a nice four wheel drive and said that they were working on a research project to monitor the quality of water coming from boreholes in our area. The senior guy introduced himself and asked if we would sign a MOU, (Memorandum of Understanding), to register as participants in the research. It would have been unreasonable to disagree so Mary, (our manager), signed us up and we went out to the borehole to take and test the relevant samples.

 We started the borehole pump and after running the water though for about five minutes to guarantee a good sample the scientists set to work. Using a couple of multimeters the tests were conducted quickly and efficiently. It has been some time since the borehole water was tested so I was keen to get the results – especially on salinity as this affects the water’s potential for irrigation. Our water is slightly more salty than the other boreholes in the sample but well within safe limits. We could use it for irrigation at a push but it would be inadvisable to use it on our land for long as it would damage the fertility of the soil, (as many farmers in India have found out since adopting deep boreholes for irrigation).

 After the transport frustrations of yesterday it was good to meet a couple of guys who knew what they were doing, explained it well and did a good job. The monitoring program will go on for some time and “action will be taken” to deal with any issues that arise. Quite how this will be accomplished I’m not sure. I am not a hydrologist so I don’t know what can be done to remedy problems that affect the quality of water ninety metres below ground. The men from the ministry seemed very confident about it all though. There is hope yet.