## 3 Results
### Community Water Supply: Historical Development and Current Status  
#### 3.5.1 Historical Development of Water Resource  
Water resource development and assessment of current rural water supply asset status were examined using recent mWater survey data at Chilwa Basin and Phalombe District scales (Figure 12). Significant increase in groundwater and surface water points is evident since 1970. Rural water points in WRA 2 total 9298 (in 2019) of which 4278 reside in Phalombe District (Figure 12, left panels). Groundwater accounts for 60% of Basin water supplies, but only 40% of Phalombe District water points. From 1970 to 1990 new water points of all types only averaged \(15\pm 10\) installations each year across the basin (recognising this represents a low-end estimate as some historical installations may be 'lost' and not evaluated). Numbers accelerated in the 1990s with sustained installation activity averaging \(397\pm 197\) Basin installations annually since 2000 to date over the basin. New groundwater point installations averaged \(225\pm 91\) annually with a fairly linear cumulative growth apparent across the basin (Figure 12a). Intensification of investment activity occurs around 2000 (beginning of MDG period) and in 2013 (near end of MDG period) with a record annual 503 groundwater installations. Similar intensification occurs at the district scale (Figure 12b). Accelerated investment coincides with increased drilling programme efforts in other regions of Malawi to meet goals at the opening and closure of the MDG era [20]. Boreholes account for 87.7% of the 5605 basin groundwater points, protected duy wells 5.0%, unprotected duy wells 6.4%, and protected and unprotected springs, 0.36% and 0.59%, respectively. Boreholes account for 88.8% of Phalombe District groundwater points.  
Surface water development has a more abrupt investment profile (Figure 12) as would be expected for piped gravity fed systems where numerous taps are installed quickly during construction. Marked increases occur for surface water investments at around 2013, but are somewhat delayed compared to groundwater in the early 2000s peaking in 2004-2006 at the basin scale. Obvious step increase occurs in the Phalombe District surface water profile (Figure 12b) ascribed as before to the installation of many gravity-fed supplies that tap catchment surface water drainage, especially from the southern Mount Mulanje area foothills. Thus, in Phalombe District surface water points predominate over groundwater, a situation not encountered elsewhere in the WRA 2 Basin. The cumulative proportion of groundwater points (Figure 12, dashed line) is initially comparable between Basin and District, both declining in the 1980s to approximately 40%, but returning to approximately 80% by 2000. Thereafter the proportion of groundwater points declines, stabilizing at approximately 60% from 2005 to date across the Basin, but to a lower 40% proportion across the Phalombe District due to the step increase in gravity-fed schemes. The split of these schemes at Basin level is 91.6% piped into public tap or basin (i.e., community water points), 8.0% piped into yard/plot and 0.4% piped into a private dwelling.