During the dry period of the year, the reliability and accessibility of water
are poor for three of the villages in the project area, which are mainly
served by shallow wells. The construction of irrigation canals and the
creation of the dam, however, will make the water supply more reliable and
easily accessible throughout the year. Provided health education is supplied,
this likely will lead to an improved hygienic status among the communities
living close to the irrigation canals and the Goora Dam. The number of
hygiene-related skin and eye diseases could therefore decrease and thus is
seen a health opportunity of the project. Enteric diseases will, however,
continue to be significant because of a lack of safe drinking water. Furthermore,
the risk of epidemics may increase if people use contaminated canal
water for drinking instead of water from shallow wells-a realistic situation
for villagers whose access to shallow wells will be cut off by the new canal.