Searching for safe water sources for Nduta refugee camp and the surrounding host-communities in western Tanzania using a towed transient electromagnetic (tTEM) system

Access to safe drinking water is a daily struggle for many of the residents of northwestern Tanzania – whether they be refugees in Nduta camp or those living in the neighboring host communities. Drinking water is often sourced from shallow hand-dug wells, springs, or various surface water bodies. Hand-dug wells and springs are often unable to satisfy the communities' water needs, while surface water is often of poor quality due to high turbidity. For these communities, groundwater represents an attractive resource to satisfy their water needs. The challenge is optimally determining well locations and screen depths, especially in data poor regions such as western Tanzania.

A towed transient electromagnetic (tTEM) survey was conducted in Nduta refugee camp and several surrounding host communities. The tTEM system can rapidly cover large areas and image to depths approaching 100 m. When combined with local knowledge of existing groundwater systems, consisting of known spring and hand-dug well locations, a more comprehensive picture of local groundwater systems is formed. The tTEM system is shown to be well suited to these data poor regions and has great potential to become a powerful tool to enhance the likelihood of drilling successful wells.