How Open Source GIS and related tools can help in African project and projects can help to develop new tools: the case of Rwanda and the new GRASS-Epanet interface

An ACP EU project is currently studying an area of north Rwanda, aimed to improve water facilities using FOSS systems. Some of the project's goals are to improve the capabilities of Rwanda water operators to design and manage water distribution networks and related resources, to built medium hydro-power plants and to carry out river restoration in order to limit river bank erosion. Rwanda has many water problems related to both water quantity and quality, therefore an effective management of the existing water systems and a correct design of the future ones are crucial to obtain sustainable results in a long term view. The project is aimed to share with the Rwanda operators the knowledge about the present water management situation and to study with them some new tools to improve the situation. These tools will include both the technical solutions regarding water system devices and the software systems to manage those system. A first interface between EPANET and GRASS GIS, two software useful to carry out water supply systems management and design, has been developed taking into account the results and the problems encountered in previous projects by the research group. Epanet is widely used all over the world, but all the available interfaces to and from a GIS system are proprietary. The availability of such an instrument for a FOSS GIS can be significantly useful to foster the use of this tools, allowing water managers to be more effective and to analyze a territory taking into account environmental sustainability.