Artesian Wells Image Gallery • artesianwells

Introduction

This vignette provides a visual showcase of the artesian wells documented in the dataset. The images are organized by district and displayed alongside key information about each well site.

Show code

# Prepare data with image URLs
wells_with_images <- artesianwells %>%
  filter(!is.na(well_images)) %>%
  mutate(
    # Extract first image URL if multiple are separated by semicolons
    first_well_image = str_extract(well_images, "^[^;]+"),
    first_area_photo = if_else(!is.na(area_photos), 
                               str_extract(area_photos, "^[^;]+"), 
                               NA_character_)
  ) %>%
  select(
    district,
    traditional_authority,
    latitude,
    longitude,
    has_structure,
    well_structure_type,
    seconds_to_fill_20L,
    use_of_site,
    river_nearby,
    has_operator,
    mgmt_type,
    first_well_image,
    first_area_photo
  )

# Count wells by district
district_summary <- wells_with_images %>%
  group_by(district) %>%
  summarise(
    well_count = n(),
    avg_fill_time = round(mean(seconds_to_fill_20L, na.rm = TRUE), 1),
    .groups = "drop"
  ) %>%
  arrange(desc(well_count))

Overview

The dataset contains images for 43 artesian well sites across 10 districts in Malawi.

Show code

district_summary %>%
  gt() %>%
  cols_label(
    district = "District",
    well_count = "Number of Wells",
    avg_fill_time = "Avg. Fill Time (seconds)"
  ) %>%
  tab_header(
    title = "Artesian Wells Distribution",
    subtitle = "Wells with documented images"
  ) %>%
  fmt_number(
    columns = avg_fill_time,
    decimals = 1
  ) %>%
  tab_style(
    style = cell_fill(color = "lightblue"),
    locations = cells_body(columns = well_count, rows = well_count > 5)
  )

Table 1: Summary of artesian wells by district

Artesian Wells Distribution
Wells with documented images
District	Number of Wells	Avg. Fill Time (seconds)
Machinga	10	62.9
Mangochi	8	58.2
Blantyre	5	104.9
Chikwawa	4	17.8
Ntchisi	4	38.8
Karonga	3	37.2
Neno	3	0.0
Salima	3	18.6
Balaka	2	153.7
Liwonde	1	0.0

Wells by District

Machinga

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Machinga
10 well sites documented
	Sitola	-15.1098, 35.2455	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	NA
	Sitola	-15.1133, 35.2368	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	NA
	Sitola	-15.0803, 35.2369	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Sitola	-15.0813, 35.239	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Sitola	-15.078, 35.2403	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Sitola	-15.0787, 35.2427	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Sitola	-15.0622, 35.2344	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Stola	-15.1141, 35.2379	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Stola	-15.1141, 35.2379	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Stola	-15.1026, 35.2337	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes

Mangochi

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Mangochi
8 well sites documented
	Chimwala	-14.7534, 35.1993	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Chimwala	-14.7533, 35.1993	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Chimwala	-14.7234, 35.1723	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Chimwala	-14.7523, 35.202	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes
	Chimwala	-14.4832, 35.2643	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Chimwala	-14.7341, 35.189	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Chimwala	-14.7358, 35.1906	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	No
	TA Chimwala	-14.7526, 35.2042	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	Yes

Blantyre

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Blantyre
5 well sites documented
	Machinjiri	-15.7578, 35.0025	No	Fast (< 30s)	Other	NA
	TA Chigalu	-15.3765, 34.9852	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	TA Kapeni	-15.6469, 35.0212	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	NA
	TA Lundu	-15.4958, 35.1109	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	NA
	TA Somba	-15.9172, 34.9365	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	No

Chikwawa

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Chikwawa
4 well sites documented
	Mankhuwila	-16.2437, 35.0101	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Mgabu	-16.3001, 34.8412	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes
	Mgabu	-15.8398, 34.3957	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes
	TA Maseya	-16.0369, 34.9116	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA

Ntchisi

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Ntchisi
4 well sites documented
	Chikho	-13.4189, 34.058	NA	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	NA
	Kasakula	-13.3739, 34.0964	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Irrigation	No
	Kasakula	-13.3793, 34.0665	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Malenga	-13.3333, 33.8693	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	Yes

Karonga

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Karonga
3 well sites documented
	Kyungu	-10.1265, 34.0035	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes
	Kyungu	-9.9465, 33.8672	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Mwilangombe	-10.3061, 34.1245	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	NA

Neno

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Neno
3 well sites documented
	Simon	-15.2908, 34.9987	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes
	Simoni	-15.3235, 34.978	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes
	Symon	-15.2908, 34.9986	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	No

Salima

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Salima
3 well sites documented
	Khombedza	-13.6473, 34.1564	Yes	Moderate (30-60s)	Domestic	Yes
	Maganga	-13.7322, 34.5687	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Irrigation	No
	Maganga	-13.733, 34.5687	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Irrigation	No

Balaka

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Balaka
2 well sites documented
	TA Nkaya	-15.2984, 35.0069	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	NA
	TA Nkaya	-15.2886, 35.0102	Yes	Slow (> 60s)	Domestic	NA

Liwonde

Well Image	Traditional Authority	Coordinates	Structure	Fill Rate	Primary Use	Operator
Artesian Wells in Liwonde
1 well sites documented
	Sitola	-15.1105, 35.2576	Yes	Fast (< 30s)	Domestic	Yes

Image Grid View

For a quick visual overview, here’s a grid displaying all well images organized in rows of 4:

Balaka - TA Nkaya

Blantyre - TA Chigalu

Blantyre - TA Lundu

Blantyre - TA Kapeni

Blantyre - TA Somba

Liwonde - Sitola

Machinga - Sitola

Chikwawa - TA Maseya

Machinga - Sitola

Machinga - Stola

Machinga - Sitola

Chikwawa - Mankhuwila

Machinga - Sitola

Karonga - Kyungu

Karonga - Mwilangombe

Ntchisi - Malenga

Ntchisi - Chikho

Ntchisi - Kasakula

Salima - Maganga

Salima - Khombedza

Blantyre - Machinjiri

Karonga - Kyungu

Chikwawa - Mgabu

Mangochi - Chimwala

Mangochi - TA Chimwala

Mangochi - Chimwala

Neno - Symon

Neno - Simon

Usage Patterns

Show code

wells_with_images %>%
  count(use_of_site) %>%
  mutate(use_of_site = fct_reorder(use_of_site, n)) %>%
  ggplot(aes(x = n, y = use_of_site, fill = use_of_site)) +
  geom_col() +
  geom_text(aes(label = n), hjust = -0.2) +
  scale_x_continuous(expand = expansion(mult = c(0, 0.1))) +
  labs(
    x = "Number of Wells",
    y = "Primary Use",
    title = "Primary Usage of Artesian Wells"
  ) +
  theme_minimal() +
  theme(legend.position = "none")

Figure 1: Distribution of artesian wells by primary use

Flow Rate Analysis

Show code

wells_with_images %>%
  filter(!is.na(seconds_to_fill_20L)) %>%
  group_by(district) %>%
  summarise(
    n_tested = n(),
    min_time = min(seconds_to_fill_20L, na.rm = TRUE),
    avg_time = mean(seconds_to_fill_20L, na.rm = TRUE),
    max_time = max(seconds_to_fill_20L, na.rm = TRUE),
    .groups = "drop"
  ) %>%
  gt() %>%
  cols_label(
    district = "District",
    n_tested = "Wells Tested",
    min_time = "Min (s)",
    avg_time = "Average (s)",
    max_time = "Max (s)"
  ) %>%
  fmt_number(
    columns = c(min_time, avg_time, max_time),
    decimals = 1
  ) %>%
  tab_header(
    title = "Flow Rate Statistics",
    subtitle = "Time to fill 20-liter container"
  ) %>%
  data_color(
    columns = avg_time,
    colors = scales::col_numeric(
      palette = c("green", "yellow", "red"),
      domain = NULL
    )
  )

Table 2: Flow rate statistics by district

Flow Rate Statistics
Time to fill 20-liter container
District	Wells Tested	Min (s)	Average (s)	Max (s)
Balaka	2	64.1	153.7	243.3
Blantyre	5	0.0	104.9	361.4
Chikwawa	4	0.0	17.8	41.4
Karonga	3	24.6	37.2	46.7
Liwonde	1	0.0	0.0	0.0
Machinga	10	0.0	62.9	221.3
Mangochi	8	0.0	58.2	140.5
Neno	3	0.0	0.0	0.0
Ntchisi	4	0.0	38.8	96.5
Salima	3	0.0	18.6	37.5

Data Notes

Images are hosted on the mwater API and may require internet connection to display
Some wells have multiple images; only the first image is displayed in this gallery
Flow rate data is not available for all wells
The dataset was collected in April 2024