Water Resource Planning and Management

CHAPTER -1
INTRODUCTION

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 1. Introduction
• Water is a Renewable Resource that naturally Replenished(without human
influence) following the hydrologic cycle. The hydrologic cycle is basically a
continuous process with no beginning or end which can be represented as a
system.
• During recent 25-30 years, there is an intensive anthropogenic change of
hydrologic cycle of rivers and lakes, their water quality, water resources and
water budget all over the world.

• The values of water resources: their dynamics with time and distribution over
the territory are now determined by not only natural climate variations, as it
has been previously thought, but also by man’s economic activities.

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 1. Introduction
• In many regions and countries of the world, Water Resources are quantitatively
depleted and much contaminated.

• Therefore, they cannot meet the ever increasing demand of human being and
become the factor impeding the subsequent development of economical growth
of population.

• Especially drastic problems of fresh water arise in arid regions characterized by

very limited water resources, high degree of use and very fast demographic
growth.

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Table 1.1Water Resources of the World

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 1.1 Water Resources of World and Africa
• Most of the world’s Total Water Resources are too salty to be used for
beneficial uses, including direct human use and agriculture.

• Only less than 3 percent of the total water resources is available as freshwater
resources (table 1.1), of which over 70 percent is locked in the ice caps.

• Of the remainder, most are in deep aquifers, which are not accessible for humans,
or stay as soil moisture.

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 1.1 Water Resources of World and Africa
• It is estimated that only less than 1 percent of the freshwater
resources in the world is available for direct human use (table 1.1).
This is available year in year flows in the rivers, and is called the
world’s Internally Renewable fresh Water Resources (IRWR).

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Figure 1.1: Total Annual Renewable Water Resources (TARWR)

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• Table 1.2 Total and proportional Renewable Water Resources in Africa’s sub regions.

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 1.2 Water Resources of Ethiopia
• The geographical location of Ethiopia and its endowment with favorable climate
provides a relatively higher amount of rainfall in the region. Much of the water,
however, flows across the borders being carried away by the transboundary
rivers to the neighboring countries.

• Although we can not be definite due to lack of researched data as yet,

preliminary studies and professional estimates indicate that the country has an
Annual surface runoff of close to 122 billion cubic meters of water excluding
ground water (MOWIE).

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 1.2 Water Resources of Ethiopia
• The main Water Resource problem in Ethiopia is uneven spatial and temporal
occurrence and distribution. Between 80-90% of Ethiopia's water resource is
found in the four river basins namely, Abay (Blue Nile), Tekeze, Baro Akobo,
and Omo Gibe in the west and south-western part of Ethiopia where the
population is not more than 30 to 40 per cent (MOWIE).

• On the other hand, the Water Resource available in the east and central river
basins is only 10 to 20 per cent whereas the population in these basins is over
60 per cent (MOWIE).

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1.2 Water Resources of Ethiopia Catchment Area
No River Basin (Km2) Annual Runoff (BM3)
1 Abbay 199,912 52.6
2 Awash 112,700 4.6
3 Baro - Akobo 74,100 23.6
4 Genale - Dawa 171,050 5.8
5 Mereb 5,700 0.26
6 Omo - Gibe 78,200 17.9
7 Rift Valley Lakes 52,740 5.6
8 Tekeze 89,000 7.63
9 Wabi Shebele 200,214 3.15
10 Afar - Danakil 74,000 0.86
11 Ogaden 77,100 0
12 Aysha 2,200 0
Total 1,136,816 122

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 1.2 Water Resources of Ethiopia
Table 1.2: Surface Water Resources of major river basins
Catchment Area
No River Basin (Km2) Annual Runoff (BM3)
1 Abbay 199,912 52.6
2 Awash 112,700 4.6
3 Baro - Akobo 74,100 23.6
4 Genale - Dawa 171,050 5.8
5 Mereb 5,700 0.26
6 Omo - Gibe 78,200 17.9
7 Rift Valley Lakes 52,740 5.6
8 Tekeze 89,000 7.63
9 Wabi Shebele 200,214 3.15
10 Afar - Danakil 74,000 0.86
11 Ogaden 77,100 0
12 Aysha 2,200 0
Total 1,136,816 122

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 1.2 Water Resources of Ethiopia
• The country possesses Twelve Major River Basins, which form four major drainage
systems:
 The Nile basin (including Abbay or Blue Nile, Baro-Akobo,
Setit-Tekeze/Atbara and Mereb) covers 33 percent Area of the country and
drains the northern and central parts westwards;
 The Rift Valley (including Awash, Denakil, Omo-Gibe and Central Lakes)
covers 28 percent of the country;
 The Shebelle-Juba basin (including Wabi-Shebelle and Genale-Dawa) covers
33 percent of the country and drains the southeastern mountains towards
Somalia and the Indian Ocean;
 The North-East Coast (including the Ogaden and Gulf of Aden basins)
covers 6 percent of the country.

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 1.3 Need for Water and Availability
• As you can understand Water has different uses, these may be generally:
 Domestic Use (drinking and sanitation)
 Industrial Use
 Food and Agriculture Use (irrigation)
 Environmental Benefit
 Energy Production
• Increasing demand for water, higher standards of living, depletion of
resources of acceptable quality, and excessive water pollution due to
agricultural and industrial expansions have caused intense social and political
predicaments.

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 1.3 Need for Water and Availability
• Since the beginning of the 19th century, the population of the world has tripled,
nonrenewable energy consumption has increased by a factor of 30, and the
industrial production has multiplied by 50 times.

• Although progress has improved the quality of life, it has caused significant
environmental destruction in such a magnitude that could not be predicted.

• A question that should be addressed is whether in the next decades development

could be done in a way that is economically and ecologically sustainable or not.

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 1.3 Need for Water and Availability

• Fig. 1.4: World population growth

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Figure 1.5: Global Water Demand (freshwater withdrawals): base line Scenario,
2000 and 2050
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Fig. 1.6 Water withdrawal by sector by region (2005): source (FAO, 2011)
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 1.3 Need for Water and Availability
Table 1.5:Economical irrigation potential and irrigated area by river basin (Source:
Preliminary surveys and master plans of river basins.MOWIE)
Major River basin Area As % of Economical As % of Irrigated As % of As % of
Drainage Coverage 1
total Irrigation total area (2001) total economical
system area potential potential irrigated irrigation
area potential
  (ha) (%) (ha) (%) (ha) (%) (%)
Nile Basin 36,881,200 32.4 1,312,500 49.1 84,640 29.2 6.4
Abbay (Blue Nile) 19,981,200 17.6 6.5 523,000 19.6 47,020 16.2 9.0
Baro-Akobo 7,410,000 600,000 22.4 13,350 4.6 2.2
Setit-Tekeze/Atbara 8,900,000 7.8 0.5 189,000 7.1 24,270 8.4 12.8
Mereb 590,000 500 0.02 0 0.0 0.0
Rift Valley 31,764,000 27.9 731,700 27.4 178,570 61.7 24.4
Awash 11,270,000 9.9 205,400 7.7 112,500 38.9 54.8
Denakil 7,400,000 6.5 3,000 0.1 0 0.0 0.0
Omo-Gibe 7,820,000 6.9 384,000 14.4 40,300 13.9 10.5
Central Lake 5,274,000 4.6 139,300 5.2 25,770 8.9 18.5
Shebelli-Juba 37,126,400 32.7 627,300 23.5 26,320 9.1 4.2
Wabi-Shebelle 20,021,400 17.6 204,000 7.6 22,790 7.9 11.2
Genale-Dawa 17,105,000 15.1 423,300 15.9 3,530 1.2 0.8
North East Coast 7,930,000 7.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0
Ogaden 7,710,000 6.8 0.2 0 0.0 0 0 0.0
Gulf of Aden 220,000 0 0.0 0 0 0.0
Total 113,701,600 100.0 2,671,500 100.0 289,530 100.0 10.8
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 1.3Need for Water and Availability

Note that: indexes

• “Water Stress” when
availability drops below
1700m3/person/year.
• “Water Scarcity” is the
availability of less than
1000 m3/ person/year
• “Absolute Scarcity” is the
availability of less than 500
m3 /person/year.

• Fig. 1.7: Global physical and economic water scarcity (source: WWAP,2012)
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HiT, SWREE, Water Resource Planning Management 21
 Tutorial
1) Asses water indexes in regions of Ethiopia:
A) Identify Regions under water absolute scarcity, water scarcity
& water stress
B) What do we mean by physical water scarcity & Economical
water scarcity?

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 1.4 Challenges in Water Sector
• Generally, here are a few reasons why many people argue that the world faces
an impending water crisis:

Water resources are increasingly under pressure from population growth,

economic activity and intensifying competition for the water among users;

Water withdrawals have increased more than twice as fast as population

growth and currently one third of the world's population live in countries
that experience medium to high water stress;

Pollution is further enhancing water scarcity by reducing water usability

downstream;

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 1.4 Challenges in Water Sector
Shortcomings in the management of water, a focus on developing new
sources rather than managing existing ones better, and top-down sector
approaches to water management result in uncoordinated development and
management of the resource.

More and more development means greater impacts on the environment.

Current concerns about climate variability and climate change demand

improved management of water resources to cope with more intense floods
and droughts.

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 1.4 Challenges in Water Sector
• The most common challenges in the water sector are:
 Meeting Basic Needs - Access to water is a basic human need and the
issue of satisfying the basic water and sanitation needs has long been
established.

 Protecting the Ecosystem - Aquatic ecosystems in rivers and lakes,

mangroves and other wetlands as well as water- dependent ecosystems
are vital sources of many other resources, are repositories of bio- diversity
and are crucial to the functioning of the hydrological cycle.

 Securing Food Supply - World food production depends on water availability.

Agriculture is by far the largest user of water around the world, representing up
to 90% of use in many developing countries.
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 1.4 Challenges in Water Sector
 Sharing Water Resources - River basins are the main source of freshwater. Due to
various physical interactions within a river basin, it is the logical unit for water
management. There are around 300 trans- boundary water resources and nearly half of
the world population lives in shared river basins.

 Dealing with Hazards - Too much water puts people and property at risk; too little
water affects life itself. Flooding , often linked to major storms, is among the worst
of natural disasters.

 Valuing Water - Understanding and incorporating the full value of water into
decision-making is an essential but as yet unrealized goal.

 Governing Water Wisely - The concept of river basin management (RBM) is widely
accepted as a sound approach.
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