Spatio-temporal patterns of groundwater depths and soil nutrients in a small watershed in the Ethiopian highlands: Topographic and land-use controls

Guzmán, Christian D.; Tilahun, Seifu A.; Dagnew, Dessalegn C.; Zimale, Fasikaw A.; Zegeye, Assefa D.; Boll, Jan; Parlange, Jean‐Yves; Steenhuis, Tammo S.

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2017.09.060

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 99 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Based on initial calibration, a value of μ = 0.049 was selected. This is smaller than the value of 0.20 assumed by Guzman, Tilahun, Dagnew, Zimale, et al (2017) for the more porous surface soil in Debre Mawi. The maximum available water in the root zone was set to 30 mm based on Tilahun et al (2013).…”

Section: Prediction Of the Groundwater Levelmentioning

confidence: 54%

Predicting Shallow Groundwater Tables for Sloping Highland Aquifers

Alemie

Tilahun

Ochoa‐Tocachi

et al. 2019

Water Resources Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While hydrological science has made great strides forward during the last 50 years with the advance of computing power and availability of satellite images, much is unknown about the sustainable development of water for irrigation, domestic use, and livestock consumption for millions of households in the developing world. Specifically, quantification of shallow underground water resources for irrigation in highland regions remains challenging. The objective is to better understand the hydrology of highland watersheds with sloping hillside aquifers. Therefore, we present a subsurface flow model for hillside aquifers with recharge that varied from day to day. Recharge to the aquifer was estimated by the Thornthwaite Mather procedure. A characteristic time was identified for travel time of water flowing from the upper part of the hillside to the river or well. Using the method of characteristics, we found that the height of shallow groundwater level can be predicted by determining the total recharge over the characteristic time divided by drainable porosity. We apply the model to farmer-dug wells in the Ethiopian highlands using observed rainfall, potential evaporation, and a fitted travel time. We find that the model performs well with maximum water table heights being determined by the soil surface and minimum heights by the presence or absence of volcanic dikes downhill. Our application shows that unless the water is ponded behind a natural or artificial barrier, hillslope aquifers are unable to provide a continuous source of water during the long, dry season. This clearly limits any irrigation development in the highlands from shallow sloping groundwater. Plain Language SummaryThe population in the Ethiopian highlands, similar to other developing countries, is rapidly increasing. In order to have enough food during the year, most families grow their food crops during the rainy season. More food can be grown by irrigation during the dry season. We mathematically tested and observed data of eight wells as to whether shallow aquifers on the sloping lands can store sufficient water during the rainy season so it can be used for irrigation after the rains have stopped. We found that groundwater on sloping soils is only available during the whole year when volcanic-derived subsurface barriers prevent flow downslope.

show abstract

Section: Prediction Of the Groundwater Levelmentioning

confidence: 54%

Predicting Shallow Groundwater Tables for Sloping Highland Aquifers

Alemie

Tilahun

Ochoa‐Tocachi

et al. 2019

Water Resources Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Identification of seasonal trends (wet and dry) in raw water-quality constituents was especially important because high or low rates of each parameter have such a substantial effect on analyses of an anthropized rural area [9]. Surrogates monitored on a continuous basis provide resource managers with real-time information on sample number properties that showed different water characteristics and specific land uses as well as distinct reliefs [9,10]. The maximum, minimum, average, and stand deviation measured values at each compartment are shown in the Supplementary Material.…”

Section: Water Parameters' Interaction At the Sample Number And Hydrological Compartmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The access to an adequate, reliable, and resilient quantity and quality of water for safe drinking is the main global water security issue related to aquatic ecosystems and human health [5][6][7] as well as to economic values. The understanding of natural processes and anthropogenic factors [8][9][10] and their roles for management and sustainability of water security resources require a better comprehension of changes that occur in groundwater and stream water quality [7,11], mainly to develop a governance and an implementation of water and land use policies [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Security Assessment of Groundwater Quality in an Anthropized Rural Area from the Atlantic Forest Biome in Brazil

Vieira

Neto

Carvalho

et al. 2020

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The exploitation of natural resources has grown mainly due to the high rate of population growth that changed over time around the planet. Water is one of the most needed resources essential for survival. Despite all the efforts made to improve water security, an environmental impact related to anthropogenic influence remains of great concern, which is the alteration of surface and groundwater quality. In many regions around the world, there is limited or no access to rural and urban water supply while there is a need to improve sanitation facilities. This work evaluated the spatial distribution of groundwater and surface water quality as well as their changes in wet and dry seasons of the tropical climate in the Atlantic Forest Biome. The study area is under anthropogenic influence, which is in the municipality of Igarassú, Pernambuco State, Brazil. The analysis of the raw water was based on Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater, as referenced in the Brazilian Ministry of Health Consolidation Ordinance that sets standards for drinking water. The temporal analyses indicated a variation on water quality from the wet to the dry seasons, whereas the spatial results revealed deviations from the Brazilian’s Water Supply Standards for some physicochemical parameters. There was an increase in the values of some parameters during the wet season in some hydrological compartments. The anthropized rural area from the Atlantic Forest Biome is affecting the water quality. It is, therefore, necessary to develop environmental policies and put them into practice by implementing engineering projects that guarantee proper treatment for raw water in order to bring the water quality back to a good status in this region.

show abstract

“…Assessment of exposure to groundwater pollution based on GIS has been practiced in some areas of Ethiopia [32,49]. Studies showed that groundwater has a high concentration of nitrates and microbes [50]. Groundwater vulnerability studies using DRASTIC (depth to groundwater (D), net recharge (R), aquifer media (A), soil media (S), topography (T), the impact of the vadose zone (I), and hydraulic conductivity (C)) model estimate the relative chances of groundwater contamination with specific constituents [51].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Prospects of Advancing Groundwater Research in Ethiopian Aquifers: A Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Groundwater is a strategic resource in all climatic regions of Ethiopia, contributing about 80% of the domestic supply of urban and rural populations. However, little research has been available compared with extensive geographical coverage and increasing population growth rates. Hence, the present study aimed to review published groundwater research of Ethiopian aquifers to realize potential research challenges and suggest future research directions. We focused on groundwater potential, recharge process, and qualities. The total potential groundwater of the country ranges from 2.5 to 47 billion cubic meters. The study depicted that the mean annual recharge estimate varies from 24.9 mm to 457 mm at catchments scales. However, the overall country was about 39.1 mm. The study found a need for a detailed investigation of different factors susceptible to groundwater pollution, as some of the evaluations indicated exceeding acceptable standards. This study observed that the main challenge was the lack of data and convergence research trends. Henceforth, future research in different climate regions should focus on multifaceted technical and stakeholder settings. This study gives the insight to integrate palatable research findings with the national policy and decision-making process to enhance the sustainability of groundwater resources significantly.

show abstract

Spatio-temporal patterns of groundwater depths and soil nutrients in a small watershed in the Ethiopian highlands: Topographic and land-use controls

Cited by 19 publications

References 99 publications

Predicting Shallow Groundwater Tables for Sloping Highland Aquifers

Predicting Shallow Groundwater Tables for Sloping Highland Aquifers

Water Security Assessment of Groundwater Quality in an Anthropized Rural Area from the Atlantic Forest Biome in Brazil

Challenges and Prospects of Advancing Groundwater Research in Ethiopian Aquifers: A Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About