Tesfagiorgis K., Gebreyohannes T., De Smedt F., Moeyersons J., Hagos M., Nyssen J., Deckers J.
Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; NOAA-CREST Center, City College of New York, T-107 Steinman Hall, 140th St. and Convent Ave., New York, NY 10031, United States; Mekelle University, PO Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Royal Museum for Central Africa, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium; Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Division for Land and Water Management, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Tesfagiorgis, K., Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, NOAA-CREST Center, City College of New York, T-107 Steinman Hall, 140th St. and Convent Ave., New York, NY 10031, United States; Gebreyohannes, T., Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Mekelle University, PO Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia; De Smedt, F., Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; Moeyersons, J., Royal Museum for Central Africa, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium; Hagos, M., Mekelle University, PO Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Nyssen, J., Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Deckers, J., Division for Land and Water Management, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
This article presents an assessment of the groundwater resources in the Geba basin, Ethiopia. Hydrogeological characteristics are derived from a combination of GIS and field survey data. MODFLOW groundwater model in a PMWIN environment is used to simulate the movement and distribution of groundwater in the basin. Despite the limited data available, by simplifying the model as a single layered semi-confined groundwater system and by optimising the transmissivity of the different lithological units, a realistic description of the groundwater flow is obtained. It is concluded that 30,000 m3/day of groundwater can be abstracted from the Geba basin for irrigation in a sustainable way, in locations characterised by shallow groundwater in combination with aquitard-type lithological units. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.