BY PETER MAKWANYA Recently, Zimbabwe has been experiencing heavy downpours in most parts of the country. The rains have come as a blessing to the rain-starved citizens including the dry areas that had gone for years without normal rainfall. The incessant rains could have escaped many people’s rain-water harvesting techniques, but have gone a long way in replenishing the underground water reserves. Underground water reserves have a special place in sustainable development, especially in a changing climate where the absence of reliable rainfall patterns have resulted in water scarcity throughout the country. Although the seepage of large amounts of run-off water differs with the nature and make-up of landscapes, there are telling signs that most underground water reservoirs have been sustainably and sufficiently fed. The boosting of the underground water reserves reduces water-related conflicts at community or national levels, thereby normalising and mending human relations. In the face of climate change, water security and food security are guaranteed. Underground water reserves are estimated to hold more quantities of water than water stored on the surface of the earth. These are fresh water sources flowing beneath the rocks and sediments underground. In rural communities, these underground water sources readily provide fresh water which can be tapped for sustainable gardening, small-scale irrigation and a wide range of household uses. These are necessary interventions to fight water scarcity in the face of climate change. As the earth continues to warm with increasing intensity, surface water is normally lost due to evaporation, overuse through small and large-scale irrigation, including brick-moulding and expansion of human settlements. Wild and domestic animals also need this precious liquid in large quantities in order to survive. Underground water reserves which can be accessed through digging wells, drilling boreholes and springs have dominated human livelihoods in the face of climate change. The reliability of underground water is that it is usually found anywhere underground except for a few areas beneath the earth surface. Many underground water sources have high quality water reserves that humans can depend on as climate change impacts negatively on the reliability of water supplies on the earth’s surface. More fresh water is drawn from underground to support a wide range of human activities, the rising population and irrigation. In the context of climate change, fresh water on the surface disappears or gets depleted. The only certain and reliable water in the face of limited precipitations and high evaporation is underground water. In the face of climate change-driven heat waves, trees lose leaves and the shed that used to provide the cooling effect on ponds and support aquatic creatures like frogs, reptiles, birds and animals is also gone, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. As the impacts of climate change are felt, with many communities focusing their attention on underground water reserves, their wate