A borehole project can look simple from the outside: drill a hole, find water, install the system. 

In practice, a lot has to go right before the drill rig even arrives on site. 

Someone has to review the site assessment, prepare the procurement plan, evaluate bids, select a contractor, manage the contract, and make sure the work follows the national rules and regulations. Once drilling begins, someone has to oversee the work, track progress, manage problems, and make sure the project is properly documented and closed out. 

These details may happen behind the scenes, but they have a lasting effect on whether a borehole ultimately delivers safe water to the people who need it. 

That’s why Global Water Center developed a new Professional Borehole Drilling Procurement & Contract Management course with expertise from HydroLOGICA, a water well drilling and training company with expansive field-level experience in the field. 

HydroLOGICA has been a subject matter expert for a series of GWC online courses on borehole drilling and groundwater resource management. When GWC began looking for facilitators for the new courses, the team was a natural partner. 

Tichazvipedza Fadzai Munodawafa of HydroLOGICA explained what makes the partnership meaningful: “Our greatest desire is to see communities gain access to safe drinking water. … Being part of the development and now the delivery of this course is at the core of HydroLOGICA’s work. As part of our values, we strive to impart technical excellence to other practitioners, and this was a great opportunity to work with GWC.” 

She also explained why these skills are so important in the field: “In our kind of work, water supply is through borehole drilling, a complex activity, since what is underground is beyond the human eye. Due to this complexity, a systematic procurement and contract management system is required.” 

The response to the course showed just how much interest there is in building these skills. 157 professionals from 38 countries participated in the course, with learners joining from across Africa, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, as well as from Vanuatu, Ukraine, and the United States. Another 69 people are on the waitlist. 

The course follows a drilling project from start to finish, putting learners in the kinds of situations they may encounter in their own work. Learners work alongside a fictional project team as they make decisions, navigate difficult conversations, and respond to challenges along the way. 

Clavine Anavilla, a Civil and Environmental Engineer in Nairobi, Kenya, came to the course with significant experience in borehole projects. But the training challenged her to look at the process differently. 

“This five-week intensive course humbled me and sharpened me… It was a deep dive into the full lifecycle of a borehole drilling project, from the first hydrogeological report to the final lessons-learned document… What stood out most was how much good procurement comes down to fairness, transparency, and judgment… when things get complicated in the field.” 

Those skills matter because the decisions made along the way can have real consequences for whether a borehole works and continues to serve a community. 

Mustapha Ibrahim Musa, a WASH/Water Supply Engineer in Nigeria, has seen the consequences firsthand. “I’ve seen too many borehole projects fail after 6 months… because of unclear contracts and missing roles which lead to failed boreholes, cost overruns, and broken community trust.” The course gave him practical tools to help prevent those failures and build water systems that last. 

Building on this success, GWC will launch another new course this fall on borehole drilling supervision for a cohort of government water professionals in Tanzania, with HydroLOGICA again contributing field expertise. This course will be available online in 2027. Course dates will be announced here soon. 

Behind every successful borehole are people who make it happen. GWC and HydroLOGICA equip them to do their jobs well, so communities can count on safe water for years to come.