184: Water is Life - GWB Ghana Water Project

Dr. Elikplim Abla Dzikunoo and Abdul Rashid Seidu discuss their Geoscientists without Borders project, "Provision of potable water to communities in northeastern Ghana." This GWB project will directly help the inhabitants of two communities (Zagsliari and Salinwia) located within the Nasia river basin in the West Mamprusi district – Northeastern region of Ghana. In Zagsliari, men, women, and children will all benefit from potable water. Children will especially benefit as the current water supplies in the community expose them to diseases like cholera and dysentery. In Salinwia, families will profit greatly from the provision of boreholes, enabling them to engage in year-round irrigation farming to improve their economic fortunes and sustenance for themselves and their livestock. This was done by using Electrical Resistivity Tomography techniques to define and interpret geo-electric sections and models to show the subsurface lithology distribution and provide scientific data that will inform groundwater management policy decision-making and improve access to potable water resources by the communities of the study area. To build on the knowledge of the area's geology and offer a better understanding of the underlying complexities, lithologic logging was done during drilling, followed by geophysical logging after drilling, which offers improved resolutions of the subsurface geologic complexities. In this conversation with host Andrew Geary, Elikplim and Rashid explain why groundwater is of growing importance in the "food basket of Ghana" as rainwater gets more difficult to predict. Elikplim highlights the value of combining community knowledge with scientifically-tested methods to be successful. Rashid explores why groundwater has been an overlooked resource in Ghana. And they both discuss the importance of respecting the culture where scientific work occurs. While the audio quality at times is not ideal, please give this episode a listen from beginning to end if you can. This is a powerful story on the power of geophysics, how to gain support from local communities, and the difference science can make in people's lives. Listen to the full archive at https://seg.org/podcast. RELATED LINKS * Learn more about the Ghana water project (https://seg.org/About-SEG/Geoscientists-Without-Borders/Projects/detail/ghana-2) * Learn more about Geoscientists without Borders (https://seg.org/About-SEG/Geoscientists-Without-Borders) * Donate to GWB (https://seg.org/About-SEG/Geoscientists-Without-Borders/Donate) * Explore the Geophysical Sustainability Atlas that maps geophysics to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://library.seg.org/doi/10.1190/tle40010010.1) BIOGRAPHIES Dr. Elikplim Abla Dzikunoo is a geologist specializing in the applications of near-surface and borehole geophysics for use in hydrogeological studies and the interpretation of airborne data for structural and lithologic delineations. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Earth Science, University of Ghana, teaching geophysics and GIS/RS-related courses. Abdul Rashid Seidu is a final-year geophysics student at the University of Ghana. Being a young, aspiring geophysicist, he had the privilege of participating in many geophysical programs that have sharpened and expanded his knowledge of geophysics, particularly exploratory geophysics. CREDITS Zach Bridges created original music for this show. Andrew Geary hosted, edited, and produced this episode at TreasureMint. The SEG podcast team is Jennifer Cobb, Kathy Gamble, and Ally McGinnis.