• Groundwater is critical to national development.
• Reports indicate that about 60 to 70 percent of water consumed in Zambia comes from groundwater.
• The demand for the invisible resource in Zambia is increasing due to population growth.

Habitat for Humanity Zambia has called for an increase in National Budget allocation to groundwater management in the country.
Organization National Director Mathabo Makuta said groundwater is critical to national development as it supports ecological diversity, human health, and economic growth.
Ms. Makuta also called on Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) to conduct periodic environmental audits to assess the compliance of existing filling stations with environmental guidelines to prevent groundwater pollution for the benefit of the public.
“Reports indicate that about 60 to 70 percent of water consumed in Zambia comes from groundwater. The demand for the invisible resource in Zambia is increasing due to population growth, urbanization, irrigated agriculture and industrial purposes. As a result of this, groundwater needs to be protected from degradation and overexploitation as doing this will ensure its sustainable use in the face of climate change,” Ms. Makuta stated.
She further stressed the need for concerted and coordinated efforts from government, the private sector, civil society, research institutions and the media in the governance of the vital invisible resource.
“We are alive to the water sector reforms that started in the 1990s and culminated in several policy and legal frameworks including the National Water Policy of 2010 and the enactment of the Water Resources Management Act No 21 of 2011 under which the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) obtains its mandate of monitoring both groundwater and surface water quality. We commend the Government of Zambia for this while calling upon an increase in National Budget Allocation to groundwater management.
“Groundwater is critical to national development as such, we call for concerted and coordinated efforts from government, the private sector, civil society, research institutions and the media in its governance,” she said.
Zambia has today joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Water Day under the theme; Groundwater – Making the Invisible Visible.