THE Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and the Ministry of Water have embarked on implementation of a climate change resilience project to address water shortage in Dodoma Region.

The project will be implemented for a period of three consecutive years to identify underground water availability and mitigate effects of climate change in the region.

This was unveiled here on Monday by Prof Japhet Kashaigili, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Research, Technology Transfer and Consultancy at SUA when briefing reporters on the project.

"This project will be carried out in Dodoma, the region with the biggest challenge of access to water. Dodoma depends heavily on underground water sources in the Makutupora valley by 60 percent," he said.

He added that due to the increasing demand for water, there is a need to conduct research on availability of underground water in areas that receive less than 500 millimetres of rain per year.

In addition, he said the project which was launched last year is implemented through a change laboratory method.

"There are many wells being dug on residential houses as well as commercial ones such as hotels. It is therefore very important to understand the state of underground water so that we can come up with sustainable water use plans" he said.

He said the research seeks to understand the entire underground water system and the ongoing consumption activities.

Prof Maulid Mwatawala, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) at SUA said Dodoma region is part of dry plains with a problem of water; therefore, there is a need to study underground water and take care of it.

"That's why the team is here to see how underground can help solve the problem of water shortage in Dodoma," he said.

He said the effects of climate change are many, including reduction of water sources in many parts of the country.

"At the moment we are looking at what has brought us here. Stakeholders have identified various issues that lead to loss of water sources, including having large herds of livestock and arbitrary issuance of permits for sand mining," he said.