Ayenew
Ayenew
Ayenew
Tenalem Ayenew Addis Ababa University, Department of Earth Sciences, P.O.Box 1176. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1176.
Groundwater Recharge
For selected basins groundwater recharge has been estimated based on conventional water balance approaches and systematic river discharge measurements. Generally, the main source of groundwater recharge is rainfall and river channel losses. The average yearly groundwater recharge for the entire country is around 2.8 billion cubic meters (Tadesse, 2004). With the exception of the Afar and Danakil Depressions where rainfall is very low, the recharge for the different river basins has been estimated (Table 1). The major recharge occurs in the highlands where annual rainfall is more than 1000 mm (Fig. 3). The rift floor acts as regional discharge zone, which contains perennial rivers, springs and lakes. There is strong spatial and temporal variation of groundwater recharge. Especially, this is apparent when the lowlands, the rift and highland recharges are compared. In the central and northwestern highlands direct recharge ranges from 90 to 150 mm annually. This accounts 10 to 20 percent of the annual rainfall of the region. In southwestern highlands recharge my reach as high as 400 mm. In the Ziway-Shala basin (ZSB) direct annual recharge in the rift floor, escarpment and highlands is around 10, 90 and 100 mm respectively.
Fig. 6. Conceptual groundwater flow model along the highland rift transect Fig. 5. Selected groundwater basins (A = Faulted basin; B =
Conclusion
The Ethiopian volcanic terrain and associated Quaternary deposits represent complex aquifer systems where groundwater occurrence and distribution is strongly controlled by the geomorphological architecture of the plateaux, escarpments and the rift valley. The complex spatial and temporal distribution of the volcanic rocks, their different intricate stratigraphic and structural relationships, wide compositional variability, different level of weathering and topographic position complicate the hydrogeological behaviour of the volcanic aquifers and the hydrochemical signature. Any groundwater exploration and development requires mapping of the important structures and evaluation of their role in the recharge, movement and occurrence of groundwater.
Acknowledgement
The author is highly indebted to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the French-Government sponsored MAWARI project for the partial funding of the project.
References
AAWSA, 2000. Addis Ababa water Supply project Stage-IIIA Groundwater-Phase II, Modelling of Akaki Well field, V1, main report, Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 54p. Ayenew, T., 1998. The hydrogeological system of the lake district basin, Central Main Ethiopian Rift. Published PhD thesis, Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 259p. Ayitenfsu, M., Zemeagegnehu, E., 2003. Prospect of Groundwater irrigation in Ethiopia. Paper presented to the International Conference and Exhibition on Groundwater in Ethiopia, 25-27 May, 2004. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Chernet, T., 1982. Hydrogeologic map of the lakes region (with memo). Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Curry, D.T., 1973. Geomorphic, Geological and Groundwater Studies in the Awash Valley. Development of the Awash Valley Phase III, Tech. Rept. 4.