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Objective: To assess the impact of construction of microdams on the incidence of malaria in nearby communities in terms of possibly increasing peak incidence and prolonging transmission., Design: Four quarterly cycles of malaria incidence surveys, each taking 30 days, undertaken in eight at risk communities close to dams paired with eight control villages at similar altitudes but beyond flight range of mosquitoes., Setting: Tigray region in northern Ethiopia at altitudes of 1800 to 2225 m., Subjects: About 7000 children under 10 years living in villages within 3 km of microdams and in control villages 8-10 km distant., Main Outcome Measures: Incidence of malaria in both communities., Results: Overall incidence of malaria for the villages close to dams was 14.0 episodes/1000 child months at risk compared with 1.9 in the control villages-a sevenfold ratio. Incidence was significantly higher in both communities at altitudes below 1900 m., Conclusions: There is a need for attention to be given to health issues in the implementation of ecological and environmental development programmes, specifically for appropriate malaria control measures to counteract the increased risks near these dams.

The article discusses a study on the willingness to pay (WTP) of households for improved water supply services using a choice model (CM) in an urban area in Ethiopia. The study involves the measurement of economic welfare, particularly the compensating surplus (CS) which measures the change in income that reflects the willingness of individual to pay. It reveals that households are willing to pay 60% extra for improved water level and that women value the betterment of water quality.

Agriculture is one of the foremost climate-responsive businesses, with open-air production systems sensitive to temperature and rainfall. This paper reviews recent literature and assesses the impact of climate change on the accessibility of water resources for irrigation. The paper critically reviews recent research findings on climate change effect on the potential of surface water and groundwater for irrigation in Ethiopia's south rift valley (Abaya-Chamo) Sub-basin. Surface water in the south rift valley Ethiopia sub-basin, including the Abaya and Chamo lakes, is estimated to be just over 5,718 million m3yr-1. Finally, the implications for future study and development are emphasized. The effect of climate change (rainfall and temperature) on the water in the Abaya-Chamo lakes feeder Rivers is different for the near future (2021--2050) and extreme future (2071--2100) time using the RCP 8.5 scenario. Overall, findings show that the availability of water resources for irrigation purposes in the south rift valley Ethiopia sub-basin will be more vulnerable to changes in rainfall and temperature. In conclusion, Stream flow future projection (%) for each feeder river Bilate, Kulfo, Gidabo, and Hare are -9.07, -11.24, 3.89, 4.135, - 0.95, - 1.5, 13.4, and 15.4% respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic assessment of spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater recharge (GWR) is crucial for the sustainable management of the water resources systems, especially in large-scale river basins. This helps in identifying critical zones in which GWR largely varies and thus leads to negative consequences. However, such analyses might not be possible when the models require detailed hydro-climate and hydrogeological data in data-scarce regions. Hence, this calls for alternate suitable modeling approaches that are applicable with the limited data and, however, includes the detailed assessment of the spatial–temporal distribution of different water balance components especially the GWR component. This paper aimed at investigating the spatial and temporal distribution of the GWR at monthly, seasonal and annual scales using the WetSpass-M physically distributed hydrological model, which is not requiring the detailed catchment information. In addition, the study conducted the sensitivity analysis of model parameters to assess the significant variation of GWR. The large-scale river basins such as the Omo river basin, Ethiopia, were chosen to demonstrate the potential of the WetSpass-M model under limited data conditions. From the modeling results, it was found that the maximum average monthly GWR of 13.4 mm occurs in July. The estimated average seasonal GWR is 32.5 mm/yr and 47.6 mm/yr in the summer and winter seasons, respectively. Further, it was found that GWR is highly sensitive to the parameter such as average rainfall intensity factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of high capital expenditures, the development of state-owned sugarcane estates in Ethiopia's southwestern lowlands did not bring the desired success in terms of sugar revenues, employment creation, or the socio-economic development of the local agro-pastoralist population. Yet, the radical and capital-intensive transformation of the Omo River basin was by no means without impact. This paper shows that the Kuraz Sugar Development Project (KSDP) entails 'side effects' which manifest themselves in different spatial–temporal dimensions. More technically, the paper examines how water resources are linked to the outcomes of this state-led development intervention and how it increases the degree of legibility from above and outside. It is based on qualitative case study research conducted between 2013 and 2017, which included multiple visits to the study region and in-depth discussions with different stakeholders at the federal and local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper focuses on the question of what will happen to the future water resource system of Grand Renaissance Dam of Ethiopia based on the projected hydrology of the Upper Blue Nile River basin. For this, the hydrological extremes, the baseline hydrological trends, and projected hydrological extremes of the Upper Blue Nile River basin were reviewed from various published and unpublished sources. Changes in the future hydrology of the Upper Blue Nile River basin due to climate change or any other natural or manmade modification of the river basin deserve concerted attention in the future water resources system of the Grand Renaissance Dam of Ethiopia, because the water resources of the dam mainly depend on the water potential nature of the Upper Blue Nile River basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimal management of scarce transboundary water resources among competitive users is expected to be challenged by the effects of climate change on water availability. The multiple economic and social implications, including conflicts between neighbouring countries, as well as competitive sectors within each country are difficult to estimate and predict, to inform policy-making. In this paper, this problem is approached as a stochastic multistage dynamic game: we develop and apply a novel framework for assessing and evaluating different international strategies regarding transboundary water resources use, under conditions of hydrological uncertainty. The Omo-Turkana transboundary basin in Africa is used as a case study application, since it increasingly faces the above challenges, including the international tension between Kenya and Ethiopia and each individual country's multi-sectoral competition for water use. The mathematical framework combines a hydro-economic model (water balance, water costs and benefits), and an econometric model (production functions and water demand curves) which are tested under cooperative and non-cooperative conditions (Stackelberg "leader–follower" game). The results show the cross-country and cross-sectoral water use—economic trade-offs, the future water availability for every game case, the sector-specific production function estimations (including residential, agriculture, energy, mining, tourism sectors), with nonparametric treatment, allowing for technical inefficiency in production and autocorrelated Total Factor Productivity, providing thus a more realistic simulation. Cooperation between the two countries is the most beneficial case for future water availability and economic growth. The study presents a replicable, sophisticated modelling framework, for holistic transboundary water management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of water for agricultural production is under threat from climate change and rising demands from various sectors. In this paper, a simulation-optimization model for optimizing the irrigation schedule in the Bilate watershed was developed, to save irrigation water and maximize the yield of deficit irrigation. The model integrated the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and an irrigation-scheduling optimization model. The SWAT model was used to simulate crop yield and evapotranspiration. The Jensen crop-water-production function was applied to solve potato and wheat irrigation-scheduling-optimization problems. Results showed that the model can be applied to manage the complicated simulation-optimization irrigation-scheduling problems for potato and wheat. The optimization result indicated that optimizing irrigation-scheduling based on moisture-stress-sensitivity levels can save up to 25.6% of irrigation water in the study area, with insignificant yield-reduction. Furthermore, optimizing deficit-irrigation-scheduling based on moisture-stress-sensitivity levels can maximize the yield of potato and wheat by up to 25% and 34%, respectively. The model developed in this study can provide technical support for effective irrigation-scheduling to save irrigation water and maximize yield production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to freshwater resources has become more limited. Correspondingly, water monitoring methods in sensitive or critical areas interims of terrestrial water storage are becoming increasingly important. The monitoring of the water storage in this area, using appropriate methods and datasets, is highly effective in preventing possible future water crises. This paper aims to estimate terrestrial water storage of the Abbay River Basin with available data and tools where hydro climatological studies are scarce due to limited observation. The data obtained from Global Land Assimilation System (GLDAS), gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE), and TerraClimate were used for the analysis of terrestrial water storage in the river basin. The result shows that there was a varying trend of terrestrial water storage for the study time. We have observed water shortages during the dry season and surplus water during the wet season. The monitoring of changes in terrestrial water storage is crucial for optimal water resource utilization and our results confirm the major role of such monitoring in decisionmaking processes and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, with its reaching implications, has become a popular topic in recent years. Among the many aspects of climate change, one of the most pressing concerns has been identified as the impact on the terrestrial water cycle, which has a direct impact on human settlement and ecosystems. The paper begins by reviewing previous studies, and then identifies their flaws and future research directions. The effects of climate change on surface water resources in the Dhidhessa Sub-basin, Abbay Basin, Ethiopia, were studied as practices. For future potential climate change, the results of global climate models (GCMs) and high-resolution regional climate models (RCMs) from multiple climate models were combined with data from Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from the CCAFS Data Distribution Center web page. To evaluate the impacts on water resources, various distributed hydrologic models based on local underlying surfaces were developed. The future potential climate change of the Dhidhessa Sub-basin Province was evaluated by integrating RCP outputs, whereas the climate change of the Dhidhessa River was directly derived from the results of different RCP. Dhidhessa stream flow will decrease in the future compared to the baseline era. The predictions of future discharge (stream flow) were based on climate scenarios data from 1991 to 2020 and for the future with two time windows, 2044 (2030–2059) and 2084 (2070–2099), on a monthly time-step after bias correction to both precipitation and temperature in the future climate described in the under each RCP. According to model results, the quantity of surface water resources in the Dhidhessa river region will decrease over the next 100 years, the percent decrease in mean annual stream flow by 10%, in 2044, and 6.3% in 2084, respectively, making the impact of temperature increase on runoff greater than that of precipitation. The distribution of runoff would be more even across years but more uneven across years in the long-term window, implying a higher possibility of drought and flooding. In general, this study discovered that any effect on this river that results in a decrease in flow will have a direct impact on the area's ongoing water resource development and socioeconomic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus pandemic outbreak is constantly changing the way of people's life. To minimize or stop the transmission of the virus, several different measures have been taken by countries worldwide and including in Ethiopia. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute recommended frequent hand wash with soap and water as one of the prevention measures for the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, the provision of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene is the main problem in developing countries. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the water related challenges exacerbated the situation before the pandemic existed. Accordingly, the additional supply of water is required to sufficiently provide water for hand wash. This paper mainly addresses how much additional water is required daily for domestic consumption after the coronavirus pandemic by educational institutions, Adama Science and Technology University as a case study. The data was collected with a questionnaire by the randomly selected respondents and analyzed by SPSS (Statistical package for social sciences).The analysis shown that the consumption of water has been changed after the Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic existed. The highest percentage of the responses to the questionnaire, more than 35% require water (2–5) liters per day and more than 60% of the respondents need additional water up to 5 L per day after the pandemic existed. Based on the analysis, total daily water use by the institute before the COVID-19 existed was 24.2 m3/day. These amounts of water not sufficiently satisfy the daily water requirements of the institution even before the pandemic. After the pandemic existed, the water consumption drastically increased to 29 m3/day. Furthermore, the study recommends the provision of additional water supply sources or water demand management to reduce the impact of the pandemic on water availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water managers have increasingly shown that demand management solutions are more important than searching for alternative sources to resolve the challenges and shortages of water supply services. This study identifies the impact of climate variables on residential water demand in three geographically and spatially dispersed towns (Arba Minch, Ziway, and Debre Birhan) in Ethiopia. Monthly mean temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation are analyzed using multivariate regression models to identify and evaluate the impacts of the parameters on water consumption. Principal component analysis (PCA) is also used to determine the dominant independent variable affecting the rate of water consumption. Mean temperature is shown to be the dominant variable causing the changes in water consumption in Arba Minch. The water consumption at Debre Birhan is slightly affected by relative humidity. Analyzed climate variables do not affect the water consumption changes at Ziway. The main findings of this paper show that geographical distribution and other determinants are more important determinants of residential water demand. It is concluded that the analyzed climate variables are not the dominant determinants which impact drinking water consumption at the study sites. Thus, it is recommended to include relevant information about the climate variables alongside other determinants in order to enhance the water management system in evaluating and auditing water usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia and flows downstream through Sudan where it joins the White Nile to form the Main Nile which flows downstream into Egypt, the most downstream country on the Nile River. The Blue Nile represents the largest tributary to the Main Nile providing an average annual flow of about 50 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) which is about 60% of the natural average flow of the Main Nile at Aswan in Egypt. Egypt depends on the Nile River waters as its main source of renewable water resources utilizing an annual amount of 55.5 BCM as per the 1959 agreement which entitles Sudan to 18.5 BCM per year, also representing a high dependency of Sudan on the Nile waters. Ethiopia embarked on the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile in 2011 with the announced objective of hydropower generation. The GERD’s reservoir maximum storage capacity is 74 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM) and is announced to start filling in 2020 and to be in full operation by 2023. The transboundary impacts of the GERD filling and operation on the flows of the Blue Nile downstream need careful attention. This paper presents an assessment of the transboundary hydrological impacts of the GERD filling and operation on the downstream flows to Sudan and Egypt. The assessment highlights the implications of the GERD, especially during years of drought, using 105 historical years of Blue Nile flows. Five different initial water levels of the High Aswan Dam (HAD) reservoir in Egypt at the start of first filling of the GERD upstream the Blue Nile were simulated, with ten different scenarios for annual operation. Three different scenarios of first 10-year average flows of Blue Nile were simulated. The combinations of these scenarios represent a large set of scenarios, some of which are presented in this paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The highlands serve as water towers for the blue water in the surrounding area, with often insufficient rainfall for rainfed crops. The population is growing in the highlands, changing the hydrology and blue and green water availability. One of the changes that affect the highlands of Ethiopia is the rapidly expanding areas of small patches of eucalyptus on farmers fields. This manuscript aims to sort through the limited available literature and develop a water balance model as a starting point to discuss how hydrology is affected by increased acreage of eucalyptus in the highlands. We find some evidence in the literature that patches of eucalyptus during the dry phase may withdraw water from the subsoil up to twice the rate of evapotranspiration when the soil water is not limited. Since saturation excess generates surface runoff in the subhumid and humid highlands, water withdrawn during the dry phase should be made up before the area with eucalyptus becomes hydraulically active. The amount of water that can be removed from storage by eucalyptus is greater in areas with a long dry monsoon phase than in temperate climates for the same increase in trees. We also found, as expected, that the eucalyptus water balance model, as developed in this paper, was not valid for areas in semi-arid and arid regions. Soil crusting and water repellency might induce infiltration excess runoff. A tentative implication is that since most blue water is produced in the areas with the highest rainfall, eucalyptus in subhumid and humid monsoon regions will affect the blue water supply downstream but not the plant available green water although shading will decrease yield in the immediate surroundings of the eucalyptus trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethiopia has an estimated >10,000 MW of geothermal energy potential, more than double its current power generating capacity (4,400 MW). Electricity access stands at 44% of the total population, with 31% in rural areas, so effective development of this low‐carbon resource could make a significant impact to equitable delivery of electricity. However, geothermal energy exploitation must be done responsibly to protect valuable water resources under stress from climate‐change driven drought conditions and competing uses across agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors. Our review provides progress updates on geothermal developments—which soon aim to deliver more than 1,000 MW of electricity—and performs a high‐level assessment of hydrochemical data for ground and surface waters across Ethiopia. A water quality database was built using publicly available information and three quality control criteria: well‐defined sample location, cation‐anion balance (CAB) of ±10%, and clear fluid type definition. Ethiopia hosts two major geothermal water types, sodium‐alkalinity dominated in the Main Ethiopian Rift and sodium‐chloride dominated in the Afar Depression, separated by sodium‐mixed waters between Dofan‐Fantale and Meteka. H and O stable isotopes suggest a largely meteoric source for geothermal waters, with δ18O enrichment adding to evidence of a high enthalpy resource at Tendaho. Hydrochemical investigations provide critical information for successful delivery of sustainable geothermal energy developments. However, the current lack of data available for Ethiopia poses a significant challenge for completion of predevelopment baselines and ongoing environmental impact assessment. We encourage the release of unpublished findings from private companies and government agencies to build upon our database and demonstrate social and environmental responsibility in the development of Ethiopian geothermal resources. This article is categorized under:Engineering Water > Methods [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the issue of failure assessment in the drinking water distribution system was presented. This specific study was conducted on the water distribution system on the campus of Bahir Dar Institute of Technology. The current problem in Bahir Dar institute of technology is that the water infrastructure is aging and has not been spending adequate to repair, replace, or rehabilitate drinking water distribution systems. This develops higher stresses on the water distribution network causing pipes to crack, or rupture permanently while in service. Due to this problem, the whole water supply components in the distribution network led to increased water loss and quality reduction. The general objective of this study is to assess the risk of the water distribution system in the Bahir Dar Institute of technology water supply distribution system. In this study, a structural risk assessment was developed by using ARC GIS 10.5 and Water Cad V8i to get prioritize maps of the water distribution system and hydraulic analysis of the drinking water distribution system of the institute. In developing this assessment, the score was established based on the preset criteria to evaluate customer point risk and structural point risks such as water quality, water availability, pressure head adequacy, the flow rate of water, pipe, storage facility, and pump. Based on the result obtained from an equal weight approach, the score of the drinking water distribution system risk index is a medium level (2.56) with a low level of structural risk (2.5) and a medium level of consumer point risk (2.62). The results evaluated by the AHP method, structural risk has had the highest weight score (76%) which means it needs more priority than consumption point risk (24%), and the result of drinking water distribution system risk index laid at the medium level (2.7), it indicates the institution drinking water distribution system put at the satisfactory condition with the sum up the effect of medium structural risk index (2.65) and medium consumption point risk (2.82). Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the components of the campus water supply distribution system, particularly parts of the pipe and the majority of the pump, should be replaced before they become obsolete, and suitable preventive measures should be taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stunting is a global burden affecting nearly 160 million children younger than five years of age. Whilst the linkages between nutrition and stunting are well recognized, there is a need to explore environmental factors such as water and sanitation, which may influence feeding practices and result in potential infection pathways. This paper explores the linkages between stunting and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) factors in Ethiopia, which is a relatively understudied context. The research draws upon baseline data for children under the age of five from 3200 households across four regions in Ethiopia as part of a wider study and integrated program led by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Using World Health Organization (WHO) z-scoring, the average stunting rate in the sample is 47.5%. This paper also takes into account demographic and social behavioural factors such as the age, gender of children, and gender of the primary caregiver, in addition to handwashing behaviour and drinking water facilities. The evidence recommends efforts to improve handwashing behaviour for mothers and children with a focus on access to clean water. Higher stunting rates with an increase in the age of children highlight the need for continued interventions, as efforts to improve nutrition and WASH behaviours are most effective early on in promoting long-term health outcomes for children.

Globally, many populations face structural and environmental barriers to access safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Among these populations are many of the 200 million pastoralists whose livelihood patterns and extreme environmental settings challenge conventional WASH programming approaches. In this paper, we studied the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia to identify WASH interventions that can mostly alleviate public health risks, within the population's structural and environmental living constraints. Surveys were carried out with 148 individuals and observational assessments made in 12 households as part of a Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment. The results show that low levels of access to infrastructure are further compounded by risky behaviours related to water containment, storage and transportation. Additional behavioural risk factors were identified related to sanitation, hygiene and animal husbandry. The Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment visually interprets the seriousness of the risks against the difficulty of addressing the problem. The assessment recommends interventions on household behaviours, environmental cleanliness, water storage, treatment and hand hygiene via small-scale educational interventions. The framework provides an approach for assessing risks in other marginal populations that are poorly understood and served through conventional approaches., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Below-normal availability of water for a considerable period of time induces occurrence of drought. This paper investigates the Spatio-temporal characteristics of meteorological drought under changing climate. The climate change was analyzed using delta based statistical downscaling approach of RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 in R software packages. The meteorological drought was assessed using the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI). Results: The result of climate change projections showed that the average annual minimum temperature will be increased by about 0.8–2.9 °C. The mean annual maximum temperature will be also increased by 0.9–3.75 °C. The rainfall projection generally showed an increasing trend, it exhibited an average annual increase of 3.5–13.4 % over the study area. The projected drought events reached its maximum severity indicated extreme drought in the years 2043, 2044, 2073, and 2074. The RDI value shows drought will occurred after 1–6 and 2–7 years under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios respectively over the study area. Almost more than 72 % of the current and future spatial coverage of drought in the study area will be affected by extreme drought, 22.3 % severely and 5.57 % also moderate drought. Conclusions: Therefore, the study helps to provide useful information for policy decision makers to implement different adaptation and mitigation measures of drought in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite global commitments to forest restoration, evidence of the pathways through which restoration creates social and ecological benefits remains limited. The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidence to generate insights on the relationship between forest cover change and key provisioning ecosystem services and reforestation pathways. In Southern Ethiopia, three zones along a gradient of decreasing land cover complexity and tree cover were examined. The land cover change was assessed using satellite remote sensing and complemented ground‐based tree inventory. Perceptions of land cover and ecosystem services change and farmer responses were evaluated through three Participatory Rural Appraisals and eight Focus Group Discussions. Since the 1970s, a landscape shift from a forest‐grassland to a cropland mosaic was associated with increased food production, improved food security, and higher incomes. However, this shift also coincided with reductions in livestock, construction materials, fuelwood and water availability, prompting reforestation efforts designed to recover some of these lost ecosystem services. In particular, some households established Eucalyptus woodlots and encouraged natural regeneration. Natural trees, Eucalyptus woodlots, Ensete plantations (a type of plantain), and grasslands were positively associated with homestead proximity; thus, homestead establishment resulting from population increase in this predominately agricultural landscape appeared to foster a viable forest restoration pathway—that is, 'more people, more trees'. This is a reforestation pathway not previously described in the literature. A return to a more diverse agricultural landscape mosaic provided more secure and diversified income sources along with better provisioning of construction materials, fuelwood, and higher livestock numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental flows allocation is an intrinsic part of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). This paper analyses socio‐political issues and effects of environmental flows integration on water availability under the context of increased agricultural intensification in an effort to tackle food insecurity. Lack of appropriate framework comprising the procedural requirements and strategic directions as well as prevalence of politically motivated ad hoc development programmes are among major challenges identified. Introducing environmental flows to a perceived satisfactory level would result in a significant increase of unmet irrigation water demand, yet, "productivity first" norm overtakes. This is presumed to be due to skewed focus on irrigation expansion and low awareness on the possible consequences. The particular challenges highlighted generally unveil the inherent contradictions in the IWRM concept putting its claim that the set of principles and entire course stand universally accepted as a means to balance socio‐economic and environmental outcomes under question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost 100% of the water supply of Dire Dawa City is from groundwater (including boreholes, dug wells, and springs). Recently, groundwater cause corrosion and scale problems to water distribution systems due to its content of dissolved ions that can cause public health and economic issues. The present paper investigates the corrosion and scale-forming potential of the groundwater in the city and visualize with mapping. Spectrophotometer, EDTA/Acid titration with calculation methods were used fors it water quality parameters analysis. GW Chart Calibration plot applied for the Piper diagram to categorizes the water types. Langelier saturation (LSI), Ryznar (RSI), aggressive (AI), Puckorius Scale (PSI), and Larson-Skold (LRI) indices were manipulated with Excel ® and visualized their spatial distribution using ArcGIS 10®. The mean values of LSI, RSI, PSI, AI, and LRI obtained were 0.29 ± 0.28, 6.4 ± 0.5, 5.10 ± 0.48, 12.20 ± 0.24, and 1.4±1.57 respectively. LSI and RSI results indicate moderate to low scale-forming tendency of groundwater in most parts except the northeastern part with corrosive groundwater. Based on the AI value, the groundwater ranges low corrosion in almost all zones except the edge of the northeast and northwest region. PSI indicated the water tends to form salt-scale at a medium rate. The LSI results showed that chloride and sulphate are unlikely to interfere with the formation of protecting film except in northwestern and northeastern regions where localized corrosion might occur. In conclusion, in almost all distribution system of the city is affected by calcium carbonate scale formation. The groundwater in the northwest and northeast resulted in localized corrosion because of relatively high contents of chlorides and sulphates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the ever-increasing demand for water in Aynalem catchment and its surrounding, there has been an increased pressure on the Aynalem well field putting the sustainability of water supply from the aquifer under continuous threat. Thus, it is vital to understand the water balance of the catchment to ensure sustainable utilization of the groundwater resource. This in turn requires proper quantification of the components of water balance among which recharge estimation is the most important. This paper estimates the groundwater recharge of the Aynalem catchment using high-resolution hydro-meteorological data. Daily precipitation and temperature measurement data for years 2001-2018; groundwater level fluctuation records collected at every 30 minutes; and soil and land use maps were used to make recharge estimations. In the groundwater level fluctuation, three boreholes were monitored, but only two were utilized for the analysis because the third was under operation and does not represent the natural hydrologic condition. Thornthwaite soil moisture balance and groundwater level fluctuation methods were applied to determine the groundwater recharge of the Aynalem catchment. Accordingly, the annual rate of groundwater recharge estimated based on the soil-water balance ranges between 7mm/year and 138.5 mm/year with the weighted average value of 89.04 mm/year. The weighted average value is considered to represent the catchment value because the diverse soil and land use/cover types respond differently to allow the precipitation to recharge the groundwater. On the other hand, the groundwater recharge estimated using the groundwater level fluctuation method showed yearly groundwater recharge of 91 to 93 mm/year. The similarity in the groundwater recharge result obtained from both the methods strengthens the acceptability of the estimate. It also points out that the previously reported estimate is much lower (36 to 66 mm/year). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Consumers' health would be at risk unless food preparation and handling hygiene is ensured by food establishments. Literature indicates that poor food handling and sanitation practices are more common among food handlers in developing countries resulting in food-borne illness. Hence, food handlers can play a significant role in ensuring food hygiene. To this end, the paper aims to assess the level of food hygiene practices and its associated factors of food handlers working in food establishments in Bole sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: Through across-sectional study design, a total of 394 food handlers selected randomly from food establishments have participated in the study. The data were collected between July and December 2017, through interview and observation. Percentage, cross tabulations, and logistic regressions were used to analyze the data. Results: The findings show that among 394 study subjects only 27.4% (i.e., 108 food handlers), were found to have good food hygiene practices. In other words, majority of food handlers observed were poor in maintaining food hygiene. Food hygiene practices were highly influenced by level score of favorable attitude (AOR = 3.9, 95% CI = 1.93, 7.87), extensive knowledge towards food hygiene (AOR= 3.33, 95% CI= 1.93, 5.76) and availability of water storage equipment at food establishments (AOR= 2.67, 95% CI= 1.38, 5.15). Conclusion: Food handlers had poor food hygiene practices in the study area. Shortages of a continuous water supply at food establishments, poor knowledge, and unfavorable attitude of food handlers towards food hygiene practice were all contributing factors associated with poor food hygiene practice. However, these can be improved through health education programs and environmental health services, such as periodic inspections, effective enforcement of food safety regulations, and enhancing the capacity of food hygiene regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impacts of devolving authority for public resource allocation to local governments in a setting of limited electoral control. Such a setting differs from that assumed by seminal formal models of devolution, but describes many developing countries. This study presents a formal model of this setting and tests it using unique data from a natural experiment in rural Ethiopia whereby half of the country's regions were decentralized but not the other half. Employing a spatial regression discontinuity design, this article shows that decentralization strongly improved delivery of agricultural public services, which are of high priority to the central government. In contrast, it did not impact drinking water services, on which the central government places lower priority but citizens place high priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to safe drinking water remains a fundamental issue in rural areas of Ethiopia. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of drinking water at protected sources in the Farta district, South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia. The study covered 16 rural Kebeles and was conducted on 75 protected dug wells with hand pumps (HDWs) and 17 protected springs (PSs). Data were collected during the wet and dry season, and field measurement were conducted on water samples pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, and temperature, while laboratory analysis focused on E. coli prevalence. Additionally, sanitary risk assessment was also performed. The result showed that, the pH values ranged from 5.4 to 8.1, turbidity levels varied between 0 to 100 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU), electric conductivity ranged from 62 to 584 µS/cm, and temperature ranged from 12.1 to 27 °C. Among all the samples, 39.1% had a pH below the minimum standard value of 6.5, close to 50.5% did not meet the turbidity requirement (5NTU), and all samples were safe against electric conductivity levels. The E. coli contamination was widespread, and only a small percentage of water sources, such as 21.7% HDWs, 6.7% PSs during dry season, and 13% HDWs during wet season were negative to E. coli detection. A significant proportion of water sources, such as 18% HDWs and 13% PSs during dry season, as well as 44.9% HDWs and 46.7% PSs during wet season, fell into the high microbial health risk category. Sanitary inspections revealed that only 16.7% of water sources were classified as low sanitary risk. This study revealed that majority of water sources were unfit to drinking and may endanger the public health. To ensure safe water availability frequent cleaning and disinfection of water sources, implementation of household water treatment, and improvement of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) infrastructure is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the annual and seasonal rainfall variability at five selected stations of Amhara Regional State, by using the innovative trend analysis method (ITAM), Mann-Kendall (MK) and Sen's slope estimator test. The result showed that the trend of annual rainfall was increasing in Gondar (Z = 1.69), Motta (Z = 0.93), and Bahir Dar (Z = 0.07) stations. However, the trends in Dangla (Z = -0.37) and Adet (Z = -0.32) stations showed a decreasing trend. As far as monthly and seasonal variability of rainfall are concerned, all the stations exhibited sensitivity of change. The trend of rainfall in May, June, July, August, and September was increasing. However, the trend on the rest of other months showed a decreasing trend. The increase in rainfall during Kiremt season, along with the decrease in number of rainy days, leads to an increase of extreme rainfall events over the region during 1980-2016. The consistency in rainfall trends over the study region confirms the robustness of the change in trends. Innovative trend analysis method is very crucial method for detecting the trends in rainfall time series data due to its potential to present the results in graphical format as well. The findings of this paper could help researchers to understand the annual and seasonal variability of rainfall over the study region and become a foundation for further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a new systems modeling tool that integrates knowledge from hydrology, agriculture, and economics to understand the effect of small-scale irrigation on food security and groundwater sustainability in Ethiopia. Irrigation is an effective tool to mitigate climate impacts and improve agricultural yields. Small-scale irrigation, such as decentralized groundwater irrigation, is well suited for developing countries where small-holder farming communities are widely dispersed and can only afford small infrastructure investment. We study the underlying interdependencies between food and water systems in Ethiopia, where small-holder agriculture is the foundation of the nation's economy and climate variability has led to great challenges to its food security. Our coupled market and crop model with groundwater module captures the interdependencies of climate, water availability, irrigation, crop yield, farmland allocation, crop production, transport, and consumption based on a system approach across multiple spatial scales. We study the implication of small-scale irrigation to Ethiopia's food security and water resource conditions as a "what-if" question by comparing an irrigation scenario to the calibrated baseline in 2015, a year of significant drought and crop failure over a large portion of Ethiopia. Our model offers fresh insights into geographic disparities in outcomes that are driven by baseline climate variability, soil fertility, and market conditions. In general, we find that small-scale irrigation can potentially improve food security through increases in food consumption, but it requires policy support to direct the increases of production to domestic consumption while maintaining a sustainable groundwater condition. By using Ethiopia as an example, we show the strength of our model to study how water infrastructure resources support critical functions and service in water and food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many irrigation schemes are performing poorly for a number of reasons, and this should be improved to increase the efficiency and productivity of the schemes. This study attempted to determine the performance of the Bilate and Furfuro irrigation schemes in Silti Zone, southern Ethiopia. For field data measurements, three farmers' fields were selected at the head, middle, and tail end of each scheme. Average conveyance efficiencies were 53% and 56.1%, average field application efficiencies were 55.9% and 58.0%, average water storage efficiencies were 53% and 46.5%, irrigation uniformity was 91.03% and 92.9%, and overall irrigation efficiency was 28% and 32% for Bilate and Furfuro schemes respectively. This implied that the two schemes were performing inefficiently and inadequately, but water was distributed uniformly. The reason might be most canal sections had unreasonable losses of water in two schemes. Additionally, relative water supply was 0.68 and 0.79, relative irrigation supply was 0.61 and 0.77, output per unit irrigated area was 4140.4 and 1781.5 ($/ha), output per unit command area was 4510.3 and 1968.5 ($/ha), output per unit irrigation supply was 0.94 and 0.28 ($/m3), output per unit water consumed was 0.99 and 0.39 ($/m3), sustainability of irrigation area was 1.05 and 1.02, and irritation ratio was 1.11 and 1.09 for Bilate and Furfuro schemes respectively. This revealed that the applied water was not satisfied the crop water demand, but their irrigated lands were expanded for two irrigation schemes. Furfuro scheme was better than Bilate in terms of relative water supply and relative irrigation supply, but their results obtained were below acceptable values. However, Bilate scheme had significantly better land and water productivity than Furfuro scheme. This may be use high value crops, better agricultural inputs, and removal of grass cover and sedimentation from canal systems. Hence, Bilate irrigation scheme was better performing than Furfuro scheme. Therefore, adopt the best practices learned from Bilate irrigation scheme for the Furfuro scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in developing countries has imposed threats and challenges to basic urban infrastructures like drinking water, transportation, and energy systems. The existing urban drinking water systems (UDWS) are highly stressed and unsustainable, particularly under changing hydroclimatic conditions, population growth, changing socioeconomic conditions, government decisions, and various policies. This study focuses on the complexities of UDWS in Sub-Saharan African countries, especially in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to investigate the issues and challenges of urban drinking water systems (UDWS) in Ethiopia, specifically, to assess the gap between water supply and demand, water loss/non-revenue water, environmental, technical, institutional, and governance, etc. and propose sustainable interventions to deal with such issues so as to improve. For this purpose, a mix of methods involving primary data (including key informant interviews, field observations, and field measured data) and secondary data (including published articles, books, various reports, and design documents), as well as various computer-aided applications (mainly, ArcGIS and WaterGEMS) are used to collect data. The issues are deliberated through the UDWSs of Addis Ababa, Adama, Mekelle, and Dire Dawa cities in Ethiopia. Complexities like water shortage, high and low pressure in the water distribution network (WDN), non-revenue water (NRW)/water loss, source pollution, ineffective policies and governance, and weak institutions are the main challenges to Ethiopian cities' water utilities. Further, the case study noticed that in Addis Ababa alone, potable water is only accessible to 66% of the city population. A significant water supply deficit was observed in Mekelle city, where only half of the city population has access to potable water from the system. Additionally, in Addis Ababa, Adama, Mekelle, and Dire Dawa, above 35% of the freshwater produced is either NRW, unaccounted for, or lost, which is significantly higher than the upper 25% limit suggested by the World Bank. Therefore, it is recommended to adopt certain sustainable interventions, such as integrated water resource management, installing appurtenances like pressure-reducing valves, check valves in the WDN, controlling and monitoring of WDN through supervisory control and data acquisition and Internet of Things, effective and long-term planning and policy, etc. It is felt that the study will help the decision-makers and the operators of the UDWS utilities to run the water supply schemes in a sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lake Tana Basin, comprising the largest natural lake in Ethiopia, is the source and the uppermost part of the Upper Blue Nile Basin. In this review paper, research papers, mainly on the rainfall-runoff modeling and lake water balance, and on the hydrogeology, have been reviewed. The earlier water balance estimation attempts used simple conceptual and statistical approaches and calculate on a monthly timescale. More recent research has been using advanced semi-physically or physically based distributed hydrological models. Accordingly, mean annual precipitation over the lake was estimated in the range 36.1–53.1%; lake evaporation at 45.3–57.5%; river inflow (all gauged and estimated ungauged) at 43.6–63.9%; and river (lake) water outflow at 0–9.2%. With the few isotope studies, groundwater inflow and outflow are found insignificant. Different studies had estimated groundwater recharge, ranging from 57 mm to 850 mm. The basin has a heterogenous aquifer system consisting of different volcanic rocks and alluvio-lacustrine sediments. Generally, groundwater with low TDS, Ca–Mg–HCO3 type, isotopically relatively enriched, and high TDS, Na–HCO3 type, isotopically relatively depleted, water types have been identified. In this paper, major research gaps such as aquifer hydraulic characterization, surface-groundwater interaction, groundwater flow and groundwater balance have been identified. Hence, future research shall focus on the groundwater resources, so that existing surface water studies are updated and future water usage options are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses a threat to water security where both current and future generations are concerned, with its accompanying impacts set to be greater in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). As a result, questions pertaining to climate change adaption in LMICs are receiving increased attention from academics and policymakers alike. It is broadly accepted that top‐down approaches to developing resilience to climate change challenges have been shown to be limited and that concerted efforts need to be made to engage local communities in advancing adaptive strategies. Based on the above, we make two main arguments: (1) while there has been a shift towards acknowledging the importance of community‐driven data in generating a broader and deeper understanding of climate change, far better use could be made of local knowledge and (2) efforts at community‐based solutions to problems of resilience are currently limited by issues of capacity, specifically linked to the need for further education and training, and improved representation with respect to gender, class and caste (as well as financial support). To illustrate these arguments, we present evidence provided by rural communities located in two countries affected heavily by climate change: Ethiopia and Nepal. Local communities in climate change‐affected low‐ and middle‐income countries are on the 'front line' with respect to present and future challenges associated with rising temperatures. These communities, and the governance structures put in place by them to manage climate‐affected resources like water, are critical sources of information for academics and policymakers, offering as they do more complete understanding of how climate change is unfolding, and being mitigated, 'on the ground'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has an impact on water resources. Estimations of the variations in water balance under climate change variables are essential for managing and developing the water resource of a catchment. The current investigation evaluated the magnitude of the change in the water balance component of the Akaki catchment, Ethiopia, using the semi-distributed hydrological model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), with the integration of the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment of Africa under RCP4.5 and 8.5. The SWAT model was developed using spatial and temporal data; it was calibrated (1991–2001) and validated (2002–2004) using SWAT-CUP. The statistical monthly SWAT model performance values of the NSE, PBIAS (%), and R2 showed good agreement between calibration and validation. On an annual basis, projected rainfall is expected to increase by 14.96%, 4.13%, 8.39%, and 10.39% in the 2040s under RCP4.5 and 8.5 and in the 2060s under RCP4.5 and 8.5, respectively, with inconsistent change on a monthly projections basis for each scenario. The projected monthly and yearly temperatures are expected to increase under different climate change scenarios. Annual evapotranspiration and potential evapotranspiration increased under both RCPs, whereas surface runoff, lateral flow, and water yield declined under the climate scenarios of each RCP. Monthly projected water yield showed a non-uniform change in the first 30 years and in the second years under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. These results show that the catchment is highly vulnerable to hydrological and agricultural drought due to water availability. These research findings provide valuable evidence on the role of climate change in water balance, which will help decision makers to achieve better water resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Since the 1970s, the Government of Ethiopia has implemented villagization, whereby nomadic pastoralist groups are supported to develop (more) sedentary lifestyles and livelihoods. Villagization has been officially promoted to encourage diversification from livestock herding to agricultural cultivation, and to fulfil basic needs through infrastructure and services. From the late 2000s, villagization was reintroduced for arid and semi-arid regions as a strategy for adaptation to climate change, as part of the country's green growth agenda. The aim of this paper is to evaluate to what extent this phase of villagization has contributed to adaptation strategies among pastoral and agro-pastoral communities, based on an empirical analysis of four villagised sites in the Middle Awash Valley using qualitative data collected between 2014 and 2018. Perceptions and experiences of villagization varied across individuals, households, villages, and districts. While villagization has generally delivered infrastructure and services, and offered income diversification to those able to access irrigated agriculture, its implementation has been partial and uneven, and it has reproduced previous problems of resource scarcity while creating new risks and vulnerabilities. We argue that villagization may play a role in some aspects of adaptation, if programmes address the drivers of livelihood change, and embed equity and rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of typical problems in water resources system modeling is derivation of optimal operating policy for reservoir to ensure water is used more efficiently. This paper introduces optimization analysis to determine monthly reservoir operating policies for five scenarios of predetermined cropping patterns for Koga irrigation scheme, Ethiopia. The objective function of the model was set to minimize the sum of squared deviation (SSD) from the desired targeted supply. Reservoir operation under different water availability and thresholds of irrigation demands has been analyzed by running a chance constraint nonlinear programming model based on uncertain inflow data. The model was optimized using Microsoft Excel Solver. The lowest SSD and vulnerability, and the highest volumetric reliability were gained at irrigation deficit thresholds of 20 % under scenario I, 30 % under scenario II, III and V, and at 40 % under scenario IV when compensation release is permitted for downstream environment. These thresholds of deficits could be reduced by 10 % for all scenarios if compensation release is not permitted. In conclusion the reservoir water is not sufficient enough to meet 100 % irrigation demand for design command areas of 7,000 ha. The developed model could be used for real time reservoir operation decision making for similar reservoir irrigation systems. In this specific case study system, attempt should be made to evaluate the technical performance of the scheme and introduce a regulated deficit irrigation application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvements in agricultural water productivity with constrained water resources are often regarded a prerequisite to meet food demands of a growing world population. The WaPOR data portal was launched to monitor biomass, evapotranspiration and biomass water productivity in Africa and the Near East using remote sensing technologies. The WaPOR database shows spatial pixel variation in biomass, suggesting scope to improve water productivity at field level. The aim of this paper is to assess with regression analyses for different spatial and temporal scales whether spatial variability in biomass and evapotranspiration as revealed by WaPOR can be attributed to human influenceable factors, variations in local climate, or methodologically inherent inacuracies of the WaPOR data. Variation in biomass and evapotranspiration data was assessed through agronomic linear regression analyses, for two large-scale irrigated sugarcane estates in Ethiopia (Wonji) and Mozambique (Xinavane). In these cases 82–94% of the variation in biomass and evapotranspiration is attributed to crop photosynthetic efficiency (very large influence), local climate (large influence) and irrigation technology (small influence). The remaining unexplained spatial variability is small (6–18%) and falls within an error range of +/− 9%. In conclusion, WaPOR performed very well by neatly reproducing the conservative relationship between biomass and evapotranspiration, which also means there is very limited scope to improve biomass water productivity through WaPOR monitoring. Further research is recommended on the magnitude of WaPOR accuracy and other sources that explain variations in biomass and evapotranspiration. Applicability of the WaPOR database to monitor biomass water productivity was assessed. Spatial variability in biomass and evapotranspiration data largely stemmed from photosynthesis and local climate, factors farmers and water managers can hardly influence. [Display omitted] • WaPOR remote sensing database monitors biomass (B) and evapotranspiration (ET). • Variation in WaPOR data for B and ET was assessed through agronomic analyses. • Nearly all variation was attributed to crop, local climate and irrigation method. • Remaining (unexplained) variation falls within an accuracy range of +/− 9%. • Scope to improve biomass water productivity through WaPOR monitoring is very small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many developing countries, such as Ethiopia, water quality and the risk of water-related diseases are serious public health issues. The present study goal was to assess the drinking water quality from source to household tap water. To characterize and analyze drinking water quality parameters, 21 water samples were collected, of which 11 water samples were collected from sources (spring, borehole, and river), 4 from service reservoirs, and 6 from tap water. The mean values of the parameters were as follows: total dissolved solids (TDS) (142.79 mg/L), temperature (22.08°C), turbidity (9.49 NTU), electrical conductivity (EC) (250.14°μS/cm), pH (7.45 mg/L), fluoride (1.15 mg/L), nitrate (NO3−) (2.91 mg/L), total hardness (TH) (57.45 mg/L), calcium (41.7 6 mg/l), magnesium (10.74 mg/L), phosphate (0.44 mg/L), sulfate (3.99 mg/L), residual chlorine (1.53 mg/L), alkalinity (196.39 mg/L), and microbiological (total coliform and coliform/CFU) which were the main physiochemical parameters analyzed for the study. The findings revealed that the majority of the water quality parameters tested were within the WHO and National Drinking Water Quality Standards (NDWQS). However, some of the parameters such as temperature, turbidity, fluoride, and residual chlorine did not meet the standards. The mean temperatures at the source, reservoir, and tap water were 22.01°C 22.5°C,and 21.83°C, respectively. Turbidity levels in source samples ranged from 10 to 45 NTU, with a mean of 24.5 NTU, exceeding the WHO's recommendation of less than 5 NTU. The Boko Alamura well had a high fluoride content (3.9 mg/l), which was above the WHO and NDWQS permissible limits. There was no free residual chlorine in the tap water sample. The results show that the Hawassa drinking water supply did not contain total or fecal coliform in any of the samples tested. The overall WQI for the water source, reservoir, and tap water was also determined to be 89, 71, and 69.7 points, respectively. Therefore, based on the WQI result, Hawassa drinking water quality is good for the source, reservoir, and tap water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the most extensive database on fluoride distribution in Ethiopia. Of the total 1438 water samples tested, 24.2% had fluoride concentrations above the 1.5 mg/l recommended optimum concentration recommended by WHO. Regionally, by far the highest fluoride levels were recorded in the Rift Valley, where 41.2% of all samples exceeded the 1.5 mg/l level. Only 1.0% of the samples from the central and northwestern highlands and 10.0% in the southeastern highlands exceeded 1.5 mg/l. Larger proportions of deep wells (50.0%) and hot springs (90.0%) than shallow wells (27.2%) and cold springs (12.6%) exceeded the 1.5 mg/l level. The highest fluoride concentrations were recorded for Rift Valley lakes Shala (264.0 mg/l) and Abijata (202.4 mg/l) and the lowest in Lake Tana, and rivers, wells and springs in the highlands. The fluoride concentrations of the Awash River, which originates in the highlands and flows through the Rift Valley, increase downstream, giving concern over the current diversion of high-fluoride water from Lake Beseka. Of the various flourosis prevention methods tried in Ethiopia, the treatment of surface water has been shown to be the most feasible and effective for towns and large commercial farms in the Rift Valley, although defluoridation methods should be considered for smaller rural communities.

Ethiopia’s economy is dependent on agriculture which contributes more than 50% to GDP, about 60% to foreign exchange earning and provides livelihood to more than 85% of the population. Ethiopia has a large potential of water resources that could be developed for irrigation. Despite the large water resources, Ethiopia continues to receive food aid to about 10% of the population who are at risk annually, out of a total of more than 67 million. The government of Ethiopia is committed to solving this paradox through an agricultural led development program that includes irrigation development as one of the strategies. This paper compares rainfed and irrigated agricultural production in Ethiopia. Using the stochastic production frontier approach, the study concludes that irrigation development in Ethiopia is a viable development strategy but attention needs to be paid to improving the technology available to farmers under both rainfed and irrigated production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethiopia is the main source of the Nile River, and the country urgently needs water for irrigation and hydro-electric power development. To-date, however, Ethiopia is the country in the Eastern Nile basin that uses the least amount of water from the Nile run-off. There is no basin-wide agreement on the utilization and management of the water resources of the Nile Basin. Unilateral planning and implementation approaches have hindered the possibilities of cooperation and coordinated development. On the national level, economic and institutional capacities are also limited. Past initiatives as well as the current Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) are outlined regarding how far these dilemmas are dealt with. The paper ends with suggestions on how to deal with open questions and lessons learned from the ongoing NBI process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ethiopian rift is characterized by a chain of lakes of various sizes and hydrological and hydrogeological settings. The rift lakes and feeder rivers are used for irrigation, soda extraction, commercial fish farming, and recreation, and they support a wide variety of endemic birds and wild animals. The levels of some of these lakes have changed dramatically over the last three decades. Lakes that are relatively uninfluenced by human activities (Langano and Abaya) remain stable except for the usual inter-annual variations, strongly influenced by rainfall. Some lakes have shrunk due to excessive abstraction of water; others have expanded due to increases in surface runoff and groundwater flux from percolated irrigation water. Lakes Abiyata and Beseka, both heavily impacted by human activities, show contrasting lake level trends: the level of Abiayata has dropped by about 5 m over three decades because of the extraction of water for soda and an upstream diversion for irrigation. Beseka has expanded from an area of 2.5 to 40 km2 over the last three decades because of increased groundwater inputs from percolated irrigation water. Lake Awassa has risen slightly due to land use changes resulting in increased runoff in its catchment. This paper addresses these lake level changes and their environmental repercussions, based on evidence from hydrometeorological records, hydrogeological field mapping supported by aerial photography and satellite imagery interpretations, water balance estimation, and hydrological modeling. A converging evidence approach is used to reconstruct the temporal and spatial variations of lake levels. The results reveal that the major changes in the rift valley are mainly related to anthropogenic factors. These changes appear to have grave environmental consequences for the fragile rift ecosystem. These consequences demand the very urgent implementation of integrated basin wide water management practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources have been contaminated by pesticides due to the different activities of human beings. Different studies documented that advanced water treatment systems can eliminate pesticides while conventional and household treatment technologies are not well studied. The main aim of the present study is to determine the effect of conventional and household water treatment technologies on the removal of pesticide residue in drinking water. Water samples were collected from the Gibe River (intake point), from each treatment process, and from the distribution system. To determine the effect of the household water treatment process (solar disinfection and boiling), pesticides were spiked into distilled water and then passed through solar disinfection (SODIS) and boiling. The extraction of samples was conducted by following a low-density-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure. The result of the study revealed that almost all studied pesticides except o´p-DDT were detected in water samples. Most pesticides that were detected in water samples from our study areas exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs), except for p,p'-DDE. The percent reduction of pesticide residue after post-chlorination by conventional water treatment ranges from 11.7% (from 70.83 μg/L to 62.54 μg/L) for p´p-DDD to 97.29% (5510.1μg/L to 149.5μg/L) for Dimethachlor, and the percent reduction of pesticide residue by SODIS and boiling ranges from 2.31% (o´p-DDT) to 54.45% (Cypermethrin) and 27.13% (γ-Chlordane) to 38.9% (p´p-DDE) respectively. This indicates that treatment technologies are important for the reduction of pesticides in water. Since studied pesticides are persistent and the resides were exceed MRL (have a health impact), monitoring of pesticides in treatment plant units is necessary and treatment technology improvement is important to allow further removal of pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is the primary source of water supply in Ethiopia. The study area was challenged due to increasing water demand, uneven water resource distribution, and noticeable changes in groundwater levels. The study focused on the examining of existing abstraction and future water demand scenarios on groundwater balance in the Weyib watershed using the WetSpass-M and MODFLOW-2005 models. The input datasets, such as aquifer properties, observed groundwater heads, hydrogeology, groundwater recharge, the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and hydrological data were used. Datasets were prepared to better represent subsurface hydrology and its future demand effects evaluated using calibrated steady-state numerical groundwater modeling. The WetSpass-M and MODFLOW-2005 models depicted good performances during the simulations of groundwater recharge and groundwater budget under existing abstractions and estimated demand scenarios, respectively. The mean annual groundwater recharge estimated was 177.66 mm/year. The existing groundwater abstraction was 34,686.39, estimated short-term and long-term water demand scenarios were 72,113.61 and 93,795.57 m3/day, respectively. The upstream area has the highest groundwater head and recharge, while decreasing as it approaches the Weyib watershed outlet. During the outflow groundwater budget, the groundwater abstractions increased as expenses of river leakage and head dept. bounds increased. Moreover, the increasing groundwater withdrawal would reduce groundwater heads, and the estimated future water demand scenarios would substantially impact the groundwater budget, which would also have an impact on the watershed hydrology and ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the relationship between Surface Water (SW) and Groundwater (GW) is an important aspect of hydrology, as it aids in the conjunctive and effective management of water resources. This study characterized the surface–groundwater interaction in the Modjo River catchment, central Ethiopia using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and MODFLOW models. The SWAT model adequately simulated the hydrology of the study area for the calibration (2007–2011, R2 = 0.83) and validation (2012–2015, R2 = 0.7) periods. The semi-distributed average GW recharge from the SWAT model simulation with other hydrogeologic parameters and boundary conditions was utilized to construct the GW flow model using the MODFLOW–NWT version. The integrated modeling result showed that about 43Mm3 of water leaks to the groundwater system annually, whereas the flux from GW to rivers is about 165Mm3/yr. Most reaches of the Modjo River in the northern and central areas of the catchment are gaining, with fluxes reaching up to 4940 m3/day. The downstream part of the catchment is characterized by a losing-disconnected river, with a lower flux of up to 675m3/day. In general, most reaches of the Modjo River are interconnected with the GW system and the GW inflow to streams is higher. Based on these findings, future exploitation and management of both SW and GW resources should consider the nature of their interconnection for sustainable utilization of the water resources in the catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface water potential is the availability of water on the surface of the Earth. It is a finite renewable resource, of which the quantity and quality are both space- and time-dependent. Careful estimation of the surface water potential of a river basin is very essential for the future development of any kind of water-related project in countries like Ethiopia. The surface water potential of the ungauged subwatershed of Jewuha watershed was estimated using the hydrological model of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and simple regionalization techniques. The study used different data inputs collected from various sources and field observations. The performance of the hydrological model was analyzed using performance checker parameters. After calibrating and simulating using observed flow, the model showed it was very well to simulate the hydrology of the watershed with a coefficient of determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent of bias (PBIAS) of 0.74, 0.73, and 0.80 for calibration and 0.71, 0.70, and 7.90 for validation, respectively, in Jewuha watershed. From the total watershed area of 680 km2, 163.68 million m3 of runoff was generated by the model annually. In conclusion, the watershed has high surface water potential, and the rivers in the subwatershed also have enough surface water that may be used for agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use/land cover change and climate change have diverse impacts on the water resources of river basins. This study investigated the trends of climate change and land use/land cover change in the Nile River Basin. The climate trends were analyzed using the Mann–Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator test and an innovative trend analysis method. Land use/land cover (LULC) change was examined using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) with a resolution of 30 m during 2012–2022. The findings revealed that forestland and shrub land area decreased by 5.18 and 2.39%, respectively. On the other hand, area of grassland, cropland, settlements and water bodies increased by 1.56, 6.18, 0.05 and 0.11%, respectively. A significant increasing trend in precipitation was observed at the Gondar (Z = 1.69) and Motta (Z = 0.93) stations. However, the trend was decreasing at the Adet (Z = −0.32), Dangla (Z = −0.37) and Bahir Dar stations. The trend in temperature increased at all stations. The significant changes in land use/land cover may be caused by human-induced activities in the basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1190 randomly selected rural households in northwest Ethiopia to assess hand hygiene practice and associated factors. Frequent handwashing with rubbing agents, drying mechanisms; and condition of fingernails were used to assess hand hygiene practice. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with hand hygiene and statistically significant association was declared on the basis of adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-values < 0.05. Results showed that 28.8% (95% CI 26.2, 31.4%) of the households had good hand hygiene practice. Good hand hygiene practice was significantly associated with formal education attended household heads (AOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.33, 2.40), family discussion on sanitation (AOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.08, 2.26), provision of health education (AOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.62, 3.06), and availability of water (AOR 3.51, 95% CI 1.02, 12.05). In conclusion, about one-third of the rural households had good hand hygiene practice and more than two-third had poor hand hygiene practice in the study area, and this may imply that hands in the area may play roles in spreading infections in the community. Therefore, people need to be informed to always keep their hand hygiene good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]