Baidoa faced severe groundwater depletion caused by prolonged drought and large-scale population displacement. To safeguard over 500,000 residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs), IOM drilled 20 new boreholes but urgently required real-time performance and aquifer monitoring to:
➔ Prevent humanitarian water crises
➔ Mitigate conflicts over shrinking water resources

Key constraint: No existing monitoring infrastructure, compounded by remoteness and persistent security risks.

Our Solution

We designed and delivered a comprehensive groundwater monitoring system (SUTRON / OTT Hydromet) across all 20 boreholes:

1. • Installed observation pipes with piezometers & pressure transducers
   • Integrated satellite-transmitted dataloggers for real-time depth, EC, Salinity, TDS and temperatures (inside the borehole and outside)
   • Mapped boreholes using GIS to cover high-risk zones including IDP camps, agricultural areas
   • Engaged MoEWR (Southwest State) and local utilities (Warjanaay and Aafi) to ensure site access, ownership, and security.

Quantifiable Results

✅ System full operational ahead of the rainy season
✅ Hourly real-time data transmission via Iridium satellite network
✅ lower cost compared to traditional manual monitoring approaches
✅ Enabled evidence-based interventions, including identification of high-yield aquifers for emergency drilling