1
CASE STUDY: CONTINGENCY BOREHOLES AN ADDITIONAL INTERVENTION TO MAKE AVAILABLE EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLIES
DURING THE 1999-2001 DROUGHT
FOCUS AREA: WAJIR DISTRICT
KEY FEATURES
Core Problem
Extended drought period leading to depleted grazing, increasing watering
intervals and hence weakening animals
Good grazing available in key locations but no water
Provision of new boreholes results in permanent settlements, degradation
of grazing and hence loss of strategic grazing reserves
Intervention
Selection of three locations for contingency boreholes in strategic grazing
reserves
Careful negotiation with communities, pastoralist associations (PAs), local
leaders and MPs to agree terms and conditions for borehole operations.
Rapid drilling and equipping of boreholes at Harakotkot, Hadado and
Arbajahan without permanent infrastructure
Operation of boreholes by local Water Users Associations (WUAs)
supported by PAs
Closure of boreholes at end of drought period as per agreement with
WUAs
Achievements
Reduction of watering intervals and hence prevention of loss of life for up
to 500 head of cattle and 1000 shoats.
Relief of burden on women collecting water with related social and
financial benefits
Distribution of grazing pressure and improved use of natural resources
leading to increased livestock production
Demonstration of effective operation of boreholes on contingency basis
only with full stakeholder support
CONTEXT
The extended drought of 1999-2001 effected Northeastern province severely.
In Wajir District, by June 2000 all non-permanent water supplies had dried up
Case Study: Contingency Boreholes in Wajir District
and livestock were concentrated around a limited number of operational
boreholes. Pasture around these boreholes was becoming heavily depleted
and livestock was forced to move further and further from the watering site to
find grazing. In some areas watering intervals were as long as 5-7 days for
cattle and more for goats and camels (up to 70km between the grazing and
the borehole).
Oxfam GBs ongoing drought mitigation programme was keeping the existing
boreholes operational through support to the Rapid Response Teams based
in Wajir and Habaswein. However it was clear that additional water supplies
and additional grazing were required to prevent further livestock losses. At the
same time the availability of donor funds for drought relief all over the country
was creating intense political and social pressure for new water supplies,
particularly new boreholes.
Oxfam GB had been operational in Wajir for eight years and had strong
working relationships with both communities and District stakeholders. Oxfam
used these relationships to design and implement an intervention which
focussed on the provision of three new boreholes. This was planned on the
condition that the boreholes were for contingency purposes only and would be
closed immediately after the drought ended. Contingency boreholes had
been tried in other districts during previous droughts but had never been
closed again resulting in permanent settlement and loss of strategic grazing
reserves due to year round over grazing. Hence other development and relief
actors met the intervention with some scepticism.
PROCESS
Goal: - To Make Additional Water Supplies Available During the Dry Period
Objectives
To select strategic locations for contingency boreholes within existing
grazing reserves
To negotiate terms and conditions for operating, closing and reopening
the boreholes strictly on a contingency basis
To drill and equip three boreholes at Harakotkot, Hadado and Arbajahan
without permanent infrastructure
Rural Focus Ltd

To operate and maintain the boreholes with full involvement of local
WUAs and PAs
To close the boreholes at the end of the drought period
The intervention involved the following steps:
1. Negotiating Terms And Conditions For Operating Contingency
Boreholes
A team of representatives from the DSG, Oxfam GB and DFID toured the
District discussing options for contingency borehole sites with WUAs and
PAs. The sites which provided the best opportunities for successful
contingency boreholes were selected based on a number of criteria including:
Community preferences,
Available grazing,
Groundwater potential and
The strength of local WUAs and PAs.
In one case (Khorof-Harar) the PA asked not to be considered as they chose
not to have a new borehole, with the attendant environmental risks, in their
area.
Once the sites were selected detailed discussions were held with the three
WUAs concerned and agreements were drawn up between the WUAs, Oxfam
and the DSG. These agreements detailed where each borehole would be
drilled, who was responsible for operating and maintaining it and how it would
be closed and re-opened. It is clear that all the communities concerned fully
understood the fragile nature of their strategic grazing reserves and were not
in favour of permanent water supplies in these areas. All WUAs agreed that
the boreholes should be closed at the end of the drought and equipment
should be held by the WUA or local PA until it was needed again. The
agreement stated that the District Water Office could be asked to assist in
removing and reinstalling equipment on request of the WUA and with the
approval of the DSG.
At the same time Oxfam GB contacted the area MPs and sought their support
for the contingency boreholes. This involved extracting commitments from the
MPs to support the closure of the boreholes at the appropriate time. The aim
of this was to avoid the usual political pressure on stakeholders to keep
boreholes open and create permanent settlement.
Case Study: Contingency Boreholes in Wajir District
2
2. Drilling And Equipping Boreholes At Harakhotkhot, Hadado And
Arbajahan
The sites selected for the boreholes were all alongside existing boreholes so
there the hydrogeology was known and the chance of successful drilling was
high. Oxfam chose to invite local contractors to tender for the drilling contract.
This proved to be highly efficient as the drillers were available at short notice
and could mobilise to site quickly. Having decided to go ahead with the
boreholes in June, Oxfam GB was able to have the boreholes equipped and
operational by the end of July.
The WUAs at Hadado and Arbajahan requested to have the boreholes drilled
along side their existing, but low yielding, boreholes in the settlement centres.
The reasons given for this were as follows:
Nearby grazing areas are insecure (alongside borders shared with
neighbouring Boran herders) and the safety of the equipment was too
difficult to guarantee
Locating the borehole at the settlement rather than in the grazing area
meant that nearby grazing could be accessed but the furthest grazing
was not depleted during the drought and could be saved for use in the
wet season.
The location of these two boreholes meant that the grazing, which was
already accessible from Hadado and Arbajahan, could be used by more
livestock because there was sufficient water available. The third borehole was
located at Harakhotkhot, 70km from Habaswein, and genuinely opened up a
new grazing area that was not accessible without the contingency borehole.
3. Operation And Maintenance Of The Boreholes
The ownership of the boreholes was made clear in the agreement and the
WUAs were responsible for operating the boreholes. This included providing
operators and organising sufficient revenue collection to cover the cost of fuel
and oil. Oxfam GBs ongoing support to the Rapid Response team based in
the District Water Office meant that maintenance and repair services and
spare parts were available at no cost to the WUAs. This guaranteed
continuous running of the boreholes but undermined the concept of self-
reliance being promoted by development projects.
The contingency boreholes were used by herders from all over the district but
run by the local WUAs. This caused some conflict between different clan
Rural Focus Ltd

groups in at least one case but the problems were resolved rapidly by the
election of an interim committee at Harkhotkhot with representatives from all
the users.
4. Closure Of The Boreholes At The End Of The Drought
The boreholes were all operational throughout the second half of 2000 when
the expected short rains failed completely. However the long rains did start in
March/April 2001 and all three WUAs requested the District Water Office and
Oxfam GB to assist them to close the boreholes as agreed. This was done
and the equipment was removed from the site.
The WUAs then wrote to Oxfam GB again in July and requested to reopen the
boreholes as the rains had been insufficient. This was agreed, the boreholes
were re-opened and operated until November 2001 when they were again
closed. This raises the question; under what circumstances should
contingency boreholes be opened? What criteria can be used to judge
whether conditions justify the opening of the boreholes to prevent boreholes
being opening every dry season?
TECHNIQUES
The successful implementation of contingency boreholes would not have
been possible without full involvement of all stakeholders. Careful negotiation
with community and local leaders ensured that all stakeholders were working
together towards a common goal of providing temporary water supplies with
minimum long term environmental and social impact.
LIMITATIONS AND DIFFICULTIES
Two of the boreholes had to be drilled alongside existing, operational
boreholes and are, therefore, difficult to distinguish from replacement
boreholes in other settlements. It seems likely that there will be
considerable pressure to open these boreholes to ease watering every
dry season.
Establishing acceptable committees to run contingency boreholes which
genuinely represent all users interests is difficult when the boreholes are
used by herds from a wide area. Conflicts over the use of the water were
inevitable and did occur.
The boreholes were deliberately constructed with no permanent
infrastructure but there were considerable constraints watering large
numbers of livestock without a storage tank or troughs. Eventually, some
Case Study: Contingency Boreholes in Wajir District
3
temporary and some permanent infrastructure had to be constructed at all
three sites.
Once equipped the boreholes were kept operational by the Oxfam
supported Rapid Response Team. The sustainability of the boreholes is
questionable without an institutionalised maintenance and repair system
in the District.
Despite the considerable efforts of Oxfam and the expressed desire of all
stakeholders to avoid permanent water supplies in the fragile grazing
reserves, another development actor drilled three new boreholes in the
same areas immediately after the contingency boreholes became
operational. These new boreholes present a serious threat of new
settlement which would destroy the existing grazing reserves.
OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS
o Three boreholes which significantly increase access to vital grazing
reserves in Wajir and hence increase livestock production
o Committed stakeholders with a common understanding of the value of a
correctly operated contingency boreholes
o Savings in womens time and related improvement in family health from
reduced distance to water
o Documentation and dissemination of the innovative approach and
implementation methodology to other development and relief actors for
replication in other Districts
LESSONS LEARNT
o Contingency boreholes can provide a vital means of sustaining livelihoods
in drought prone areas, if properly planned and managed.
o Boreholes inside the grazing area are more likely to operate as genuine
contingency water supplies than boreholes in centres.
o Policy of district (eg on no new boreholes) should be enforceable so that
external actors cannot carry out interventions which contravene the
agreed policy
o Contingency boreholes should be managed by a representative
committee and overseen by the PA
o Long term solutions to the problem of unsustainable spare parts supply
and maintenance service provision are essential to ensure that boreholes
can operate without significant down time.
Rural Focus Ltd