Introduction- Session 1

 Definitions
 Groundwater in Hydrologic Cycle
 World Water Distribution
 World Groundwater Use
 Ethiopian Groundwater use
 Definitions
Groundwater
 Is that part of water below the surface of the earth which
can be collected in wells, galleries, or any other collection
media.
 Is a water residing in a permanently saturated portion of
the subsurface environment called aquifer.
 Is that portion of the subsurface water which can seep via
springs and artesian wells and seepage areas to the
surface of the earth by its own natural virtue.
 Any more definitions…?
Groundwater in Hydrologic Cycle
 Hydrologic cycle is a cycle which has no known
beginning and no known ending.
 It entails processes such as: evaporation,
evapotranspiration, rainfall/precipitation, infiltration,
percolation, overland flow, interflow, base flow, etc.
 For convenience in analysis and computation, it is
accustomed that the hydrologic cycle starts with
evaporation from oceans and seas.
 It is a natural phenomena edges to millennia; probably
with the creation of the earth itself.
Groundwater in Hydrologic cycle ctd…

 Groundwater plays a major role in connecting the cycle.

 It is the subsurface flow which usually contributes to

flow in rivers (base flow) through seepage and spring
flows.

 The common definition/show sketch of the hydrologic

cycle is given in Figure 1.
The Hydrologic Cycle
 World Water Distribution
 How much do we have?
 Three fourth of the earth is water (area coverage): That
is why the earth is suitable for life.
 A lot of water is available on the planet- volume wise.
 But it is either unsuitable or inaccessible.
 Water in oceans is abundant, but is not suitable for
much of the purposes.
 Water in glaciers and icecaps is inaccessible.
 The exiting waters in major trans-boundary rivers and
lakes are reach in disputes and conflicts.
 3
100% 100 0.9
0.3
80% 30.1
60% 97
50
40% 68.7
20%
0
0% Fresh Water
Earth's Water
Ice Capes and Glaciers Groundwater
Saline Water In oCeasns & Seas Fresh Water Surface Water Others
100 0.3
100 2
30.1
95
50 11
68.7 90

85
0 87
Fresh Water 80
Fresh urface Water (Liquid)
Ice Capes and Glaciers Groundwater
Surface Water Others Lakes Swampes Rivers
World Groundwater Use
 Groundwater is used for: domestic consumption,
industrial water, irrigation, etc. No attempt was made
for hydropower.
 GW is mainly exploited in arid regions: Mesopotamia
and the Middle East are the first to use GW: examples:
Kannats in Persia; dug wells in ancient Palestine,
Egypt, etc. Prophet Moses in Egypt, … Abraham….
 It is one of the under utilized water resource:
information is lacking.
 Groundwater Use in Ethiopia
 Takes a lions’- share as compared to Surface Water Use
(MoWR).
 Many villages and towns of Ethiopia access water from
groundwater source: tens of thousands of deep/shallow
wells, hundreds of thousands of dug wells and spring
captures.
 There are many instances of industrial water use from
groundwater (textile factories, beverage factories, food
processing factories etc.).
 Estimated as 2.6Bm3 ?
 There are various trials to study GW potential of the
country are there.
 But the data points are deadly scarce.
 No monitoring well sites are yet established elsewhere
in Ethiopia.
 There are attempts to establish GW data-base by
MoWR; however that is not sufficient (Example:
ENGDA, National Groundwater Database Network
(NGDN).
 However, all the attempts were trying to use wells
established for production or otherwise and not for
wells for the purpose of monitoring.
 Intermittent and rough studies with regard to GW are
available.
Groundwater Regions
(WAPCOS 1990)
Fig. Hand Dug well sites
In Blue Nile Basin
( as of 2006/07)
 Assignment 1
 Write A Literature Review of Groundwater Potential and
Utilization, condition etc… of A Zone, A river Basin, Ethiopia, A
region.
Include the following in your content:
 Type of Groundwater System (Refer Groundwater Basics..
Chapter Two), Aquifer Characteristics, Geologic situation, usable
quantity of Groundwater, Detail description of Groundwater
Development Works and more.
 Support your review with tables, sketches, figures etc… which
may initiate somebody for further study and evaluation.
 Try to identify the limitation of your references if there are any…
appreciate the strong sides of them, too.
 Give and extract conclusion from various aspects of groundwater
hydrology and generalities.