On behalf of the Alumni Program, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) , the Centre for International Capacity Development at University of Siegen has organized the International DAAD Alumni Expert Seminar

“Access to Water – Watershed Management Planning”

West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, 16. to 27. September 2019

This applied research seminar is organized on behalf of the Alumni Program, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) by the University of Siegen in cooperation with the University of Dar es Salaam – Department of Water Resources Engineering, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Weltweit - Gesellschaft zur Förderung lokaler Initiativen e.V., Bad Soden, and the Water User Association of Rangwi and Sunga in Lushoto District.
The seminar is the first out of a series of two. In September 2019, 20 Alumni Seminar participants and 10 local stakeholders met for 10 days. After an introduction to the methodology and a geographical description of the area two days of group field work have been conducted. A team of experts and locals visited the targeted villages to have an overview of the situation on the ground. Five groups were formed for discussions with the communities and observations on the real water situation on the ground.

Results of the five groups were shared in a plenary. The groups were merged into a technical and a management group. The management group had consultations with representative of government and the communities at the Headquarter. The technical group had the objective to investigate the distribution network from the reservoir to the end users, to identify and characterise the sources, to inspect the pipes and the tanks, and to visit the downstream area.
The team conducted interviews with Rangwi Mission, who initially owned and managed the scheme. The entire scheme was constructed at 1977 to provide water to the sisters group and the surrounding villages. The team also visited the intake point by Mambo View Point Lodge and assess the possibility of expanding the intake/abstraction to increase the water supply to the residents of Sunga wards, in addition to talking to the management of the Lodge.

It was found out that there is limited availability of water in Sunga and Rangwi villages particularly during the dry periods. During the dry periods, the community depends on the wells and water in the valley for drinking and irrigation. However, the water resources is enough to satisfy the existing drinking water demand for the six villages. There is rampant deforestation in all the villages. Rainwater harvesting and soil and water conservation practices are used by a few members of the communities.  The current limited availability water is also explained by weak involvement of the key stakeholders, weak incentives to manage the existing water sources.

Several technical solutions exist for the existing drinking water scarcity, all of them need further detailed studies. There is need to tap water in an environmental way. This will require more studies to be conducted. There is need for new pipelines and boosters from the new tank to serve the communities located in the upstream areas. This include the possibility of connecting the old pipe to the new system in case of failure of the old one. There is need to develop and implement a catchment/sub-catchment management plan. This plan should includ the  formulation of rules and regulations to guide water pricing. It should improve stakeholder involvement , the management and conservation of infrastructure and water sources and the network reach and allocation of water.

Find the technical report here