A recent study suggests that ground water is an answer to water shortages in African countries south of the Sahara Desert. This finding could help millions of people in an area which is expected to be strongly affected by climate change. WaterAid, an international non-profit group, and the British Geological Survey (BGS), a British government organization, carried out the research. It found that underground water could help African countries deal with at least five years of drought. The report released in March said underground water could help develop agriculture in the area. Additional water resources could help farming in an area where only three to five percent of agricultural land is irrigated. For example, BGS information shows Senegal has an aquifer, or underground water supply, that has been kept in good condition by years of rainfall. But getting to the water is difficult and costly. Experts say it is hard to find scientists who are trained at finding underground water. Tata Bathily is a village in northern Senegal. When a well there began to dry up in 2010, the government dug another one. That well began to dry up too. Then the town raised $5,000 to dig a new well last year. But that well also failed. The most dependable aquifers can be 400 meters underground. That is 10 times deeper than the Tata Bathily wells. Building a well that deep costs about $20,000.
