Searching for sustainable water supplies in Namibia

NARRATOR: It's 35 degrees C in the shade and the ground is encrusted with salt. Namibia has some of the driest summers on earth. Freshwater is a real luxury. Women and children regularly have to walk many miles to collect water. They can never be sure whether their wells will have any water, as Namibia's water flows from a long way away.

Namibia doesn't have its own constant supply of safe, fresh water. Only the north of the country is connected by an almost continuous, yet crumbling network of canals. The water here is supplied by the bountiful Kunene River in neighboring Angola. But by the time the river flows into Namibia, most of the water has evaporated.

HARALD ZAUTER: "This has two main effects. First, it means that people here are drinking unsafe water. Second, the water flow may dry up from time to time."

NARRATOR: Harald Zauter of the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources has been aiding the Namibian government in its search for safe water supplies for the last two years. In the heavily populated, yet bone-dry north of the country the map shows innumerable springs. It's a good indication of groundwater supplies. In a specially equipped helicopter, Zauter is able to survey the entire region. From above, it looks just like a lot of sand and a few settlements. Yet with the help of the helicopter's sensor, Zauter can see what lies beneath the earth's crust. The sensor emits electromagnetic beams, which are then reflected by any underground water sources. Indeed, the sensor indicates a water supply.

Zauter orders his team to bore into the ground to check the sensor's findings. This exhausting job can cost up to €12,000 in a place with no tarmacked roads. But ever since the serious drought here a couple of years ago, the Namibian mentality has changed. Now, the search for safe water supplies is the top priority for Namibia's government.

After hours of drilling, the team have struck water. It's 60 meters down. The cloudy water is contaminated by the residue from drilling and so is unusable. Even so, Harald Zauter can estimate the water's salinity. The results look positive. This is clearly freshwater. The ultimate aim of the scientists here is a water management plan. This would allow the government to plan the sustainable use of the entire nation's water supplies.

NAMIBIAN OFFICIAL: "My hope for the future is that we get rid of that situation and get our people to where they have water close enough and use that time that they are using to collect for productive purposes, to have our grandchildren not living the same way that we are living - suffering and having not a lot of progress taking place."

NARRATOR: Namibia has now taken those first important steps, but there's still a lot of work to be done before the country's thirst can be quenched.