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Estimation of groundwater recharge using a

GIS-based distributed water balance model in
Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

Article in Hydrogeology Journal · September 2009

DOI: 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

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Estimation of groundwater recharge using a GIS-based distributed
water balance model in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
Ketema Tilahun & Broder J. Merkel
Abstract Sustainable groundwater management requires
knowledge of recharge. Recharge is also an important
parameter in groundwater flow and transport models.
Spatial variation in recharge due to distributed land-us.e,
soil texture, topography, groundwater level, and hydro-
meteorological conditions should be accounted for in
recharge estimation. However, conventional point-estimates
of recharge are not easily extrapolated or regionalized. In this
study, a spatially distributed water balance model WetSpass
was used to simulate long-term average recharge using land-
use, soil texture, topography, and hydrometeorological
parameters in Dire Dawa, a semiarid region of Ethiopia.
WetSpass is a physically based methodology for estimation
of the long-term average spatial distribution of surface
runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge.
The long-term temporal and spatial average annual rainfall
of 626 mm was distributed as: surface runoff of 126 mm
(20%), evapotranspiration of 468 mm (75%), and recharge
of 28 mm (5%). This recharge corresponds to 817l/s for the
920.12 km2 study area, which is less than the often-assumed
1,000l/s recharge for the Dire Dawa groundwater catchment.
Keywords Ethiopia . Geographic information systems .
Groundwater recharge/water budget . Water balance .
WetSpass
Introduction
Knowledge of groundwater resource potential is important
for groundwater management and sustainable use.
Received: 8 June 2008 / Accepted: 2 March 2009
Published online: 24 March 2009
© Springer-Verlag 2009
K. Tilahun : B. J. Merkel
Department of Hydrogeology,
Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg,
Gustav-Zeuner Straße 12, 09599, Freiberg, Germany
Present Address:
K. Tilahun ())
School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences,
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
e-mail: ketematilahun@yahoo.com
Tel.: +49-3731-392039
Fax: +49-373-1392720
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
Groundwater potential is directly dependent on recharge.
Groundwater recharge can be defined as the entry into the
saturated zone of water made available at the water-table
surface (Freeze and Cherry 1979). It is the most important
parameter for groundwater sustainability in arid and
semiarid regions because the abstraction from a ground-
water reservoir should, in the long term, not be larger than
the long-term average recharge. Quantifying groundwater
recharge is thus a prerequisite for efficient and sustainable
groundwater resource management. As aquifers are
depleted, recharge estimates have become more essential in
determining appropriate levels of groundwater withdrawal
(de Vries and Simmers 2002). Unfortunately, there has been
no such study conducted in the Dire Dawa groundwater
basin, a semiarid region in eastern Ethiopia.
As there are no surface-water resources, groundwater is
the sole source of water supply for domestic, agricultural,
and industrial use in the Dire Dawa area. Dire Dawa is the
second largest industrial and commercial town in the
country. The Sabian well field, located in the town,
supplies water to the town. In addition, there are a number
of wells owned by individuals for domestic and industrial
uses. Dire Jara well field is also soon to be operational to
supply water at a rate of 240 l/s to Harar, which is another
large and historical town about 65 km south-east of the
Dire Jara area. The groundwater level in the Sabian well
field has been dropping over the years to such an extent
that at present some of the wells (e.g. PW1, PW2, and
PW3) are dry. The water level measured in four boreholes
(PW5, PW6, PW7, and PW9) showed an average water
level decline of 11 m from its initial measured value in
1989 (Dire Dawa Administrative Council integrated
resource development master plan study project, water
works design and supervision enterprise (WWDSE), Vol. III
(Water resources), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unpublished,
2004; cited hereafter as ‘WWDSE 2004 unpublished’). This
indicates, at least, the existence of imbalance between
abstraction and replenishment. However, the only informa-
tion available on recharge in Dire Dawa groundwater basin is
various estimates based on very crude assumptions (Harar
water supply project groundwater resources. Ministry of
Water Resources, Ethiopia, unpublished, 2005 (cited here-
after as BCEOM-WWDSE-CECE 2005 unpublished);
Greitzer 1970; WWDSE 2004 unpublished). These studies
used some simplified approaches to estimate recharge such
as assumption of runoff coefficient and use of spring
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x
1444
discharge-area relationship (BCEOM-WWDSE-CECE
2005 unpublished) and adoption of coefficients determined
in other catchments (Greitzer 1970; WWDSE 2004 unpub-
lished). Most of these reports have claimed that recharge in
Dire Dawa groundwater basin is more than 6% of annual
rainfall.
Recharge can be estimated using a number of
approaches depending on the availability of data and level
of accuracy required, as follows: (1) inflow estimation
such as soil moisture budget and tracers (Allison et al.
1994); (2) aquifer response (water level fluctuation
method; Sophocleous 1991); (3) catchment water balance
(Essery and Wilcock 1990) and chloride and bromide mass
balance methods (Allison and Hughes 1978; Bazuhair and
Wood 1996). Recharge can also be estimated with numerical
groundwater models using inverse techniques. However,
models do not produce unique solutions, so should not be
relied upon as a sole technique for estimating recharge. In
arid and semiarid areas, recharge is relatively small and
potentially more variable (Allison et al. 1994). As such, the
use of techniques that can handle spatial variability is
necessary. In this regard, geographic information systems
(GIS) have emerged as effective tools for handling spatial
data and decision making in several areas including
engineering, geology and environmental fields.
In this study, a distributed water balance recharge
estimation technique called WetSpass (Batelaan and De
Fig. 1 The study site showing DDAC, Dire Dawa groundwater basin, well fields, towns, and surface drainage
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
Smedt 2007) was applied to estimate long-term seasonal/
annual average recharge as a function of land-cover, soil
type, topography and hydrometeorological factors. Wet-
Spass is an acronym for Water and Energy Transfer
between Soil, Plants, and Atmosphere under quasi-Steady
State. It is a physically based methodology for estimation
of the long-term average, spatially varying, water-balance
components: surface runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and
groundwater recharge. The GIS structure of the model,
with parameters as attribute tables, has been shown to be
advantageous in transferring it to other environments
(Batelaan and De Smedt 2007). WetSpass was, for
example, successfully applied in the Dijle-Demer-Nete
catchments of Belgium (Batelaan and De Smedt 2007),
the Upper-Beibrza catchment, Poland (Thijs 2002), and
the Geba Basin in Tigray, Ethiopia (Asfaw 2005).
Methodology
Description of the study area
The region known as the Dire Dawa Administrative
Council (DDAC), area 1,333 km2, is found at the margin
of the eastern part of the Ethiopian rift valley. It lies
between 09°28′ to 09°49′N latitude and 41°38′ to 42°19′E
longitude (Fig. 1). It is characterized by very diverse
spatial variation of topographic features with an altitude
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

range of 950–2,600 meters above sea level (masl). The
mountainous areas are located at the southern and south-
eastern parts with slopes reaching up to 40%. The flat
plains lie mainly on the northern and north-western part of
the DDAC with a general slope of less than 3%.
Two of the weather stations (at Dire Dawa and Hurso)
are located in the plain area while the other three (at
Dengego, Kersa, and Kulubi) are located on the escarp-
ment (Fig. 1). The climatic situation is characterized
mainly by warm and semiarid climate with relatively low
rainfall (Tilahun 2006). The mean annual maximum and
minimum temperatures are 28 and 17°C respectively and
mean annual rainfall is 626 mm. The year is divided into
three seasons: a main rainy season (Kiremt) from mid-
June to September, a dry season (Bega) from October to
February, and a small rainy season (Belg) in March and
April. Potential evapotranspiration, the ability of the
atmosphere to remove water from a surface through the
processes of evaporation and transpiration, is about
1,660 mm. Actual evapotranspiration, the quantity of
water that is actually removed from a surface, would be
much lower.
Not all parts of DDAC drain towards the Dire Dawa
groundwater basin. In order to determine the catchment
area for Dire Dawa groundwater basin, the topographic
divide was assumed as a groundwater divide. As such, the
catchment draining towards the Dire Dawa groundwater
basin was differentiated from the rest of the DDAC
catchment. The area of Dire Dawa groundwater system is,
therefore, about 920 km2 (Fig. 1).
Surface drainage and hydrogeology
The DDAC has two geographic settings: the escarpment
and the plain area. The escarpment occupies the southern,
south-eastern and eastern part of the DDAC. The drainage
network of DDAC is presented in Fig. 1. Generally,
surface water drains from the southern escarpment area
towards the plain area in the north. The rainfall in Dire
Dawa area is high intensity, short-duration rainfall result-
ing in floods that have disastrous effects on property and
human life in Dire Dawa town. After a day or two, there is
no flow in the stream channels draining the high-velocity
water from the escarpment area. As a result, there is no
baseflow in the DDAC catchment area.
The escarpment area has highly rugged topography and
is intensively faulted by east-west trending faults. On the
escarpment are outcrops of Precambrian rocks, Adigrat
(lower) sandstone, Hamanalei (Antalo) limestone, Amba-
aradam (upper) sandstone, and basalts (Hydrogeology and
hydrochemistry of the Dire Dawa area. Ethiopian Institute
of Geological Survey, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Zerai H and
Sima J unpublished 1986). The foot of the escarpment
occupies the northern and north-western part of the
DDAC, which is dominantly covered by alluvial deposits.
In general the stratigraphy of the plain area, in sequence
from top to bottom, can be described as alluvial deposit,
basalt, upper sandstone/limestone, lower sandstone, and
basement rock. The Dire Dawa and Harar towns' water
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
1445
supply well fields (Sabain and Dire Jara, respectively) tap
water from the upper sandstone and limestone aquifers
which are considered to be the major aquifers in the area.
The alluvial aquifer is extensive at Dire Dawa town and
north of it; west of Dire Dawa town the occurrence of
groundwater in this formation is limited along alluvial
fans and river channel deposits. However, the alluvial
aquifer has only limited productivity (WWDSE 2004
unpublished). The Dire Dawa groundwater basin is a plain
area surrounded by mountains (escarpment). The conceptual
model for Dire Dawa groundwater system is that the surface
water divide is also the groundwater divide. The outlet of the
surface water flow, north of the plain area, is considered as
the direction towards which the groundwater flows. The
hydraulic head in the boreholes has confirmed that the
direction of groundwater flow is from the south and south-
western part towards the north and north-eastern part,
following the surface drainage system.
The WetSpass methodology
WetSpass is a methodology for estimating spatially
distributed, long-term average recharge. It integrates GIS
and a water balance method (Batelaan and De Smedt
2001; Batelaan and De Smedt 2007). By using long-term
average standard hydrometrological parameters as input,
the model simulates the temporal average and spatial
differences of surface runoff, actual evapotranspiration,
and groundwater recharge. Since evapotranspiration from
shallow groundwater can be significant, especially in
groundwater dependent wetlands, the position of the water
table is taken into account, through the use of a coupled
groundwater model, in the estimation of recharge. Wet-
Spass is integrated in GIS ArcView as a raster model.
Parameters such as land-use and related soil type, are
connected to the model using attribute tables of the land-
use and soil raster maps.
The seasonal water balance for a vegetated fraction of a
raster cell (Fig. 2) is
P ¼ I þ Sv þ Tv þ Rv ð1Þ
where P is the precipitation [L], I the interception [L], Sv
the surface runoff [L], Tv the actual transpiration [L] and
Rv the groundwater recharge [L] in the vegetated fraction
of the raster cell. The actual evapotranspiration, ETv [L],
is the sum of Tv and the evaporation from the bare soil, Es
[L]. The total actual evapotranspiration, ETtot [L], is the
sum of I, Tv and the evaporation from the bare soil, Es [L].
The surface runoff, Sv, is simulated in two stages. First,
the potential surface runoff, Sv–pot, is calculated as:
Sv
pot ¼ f1 ðV ; ST ; S; DÞðP
I Þ ð2Þ
where f1 is a runoff factor from a lookup table whose
value is dependent on vegetation type (V), soil texture
(ST), slope (S), and groundwater saturated areas (D), and
is based on characteristic values derived from Smedema
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x
1446
Fig. 2 Schematic water balance of a hypothetical raster cell
(adapted from Batelaan and De Smedt 2007)
and Rycroft (1988), Pilgrim and Cordery (1992), and
Chow et al. (1988). In the second stage, the potential
surface runoff is adjusted for recharge areas by taking into
account the seasonal precipitation intensity distribution
(Pi) in relation to the soil infiltration capacity (Ic; Rubin,
1966) as:
Sv ¼ f2 ðPi ; Ic ; DÞSv
pot ð3Þ
where f2 is a factor from a soil texture lookup table that
partitions the precipitation for a hydrological season, in an
effective and non-effective part for contribution to the
surface runoff. It can be derived by estimating the fraction
of seasonal precipitation with intensity higher than the
infiltration capacity of a particular soil type.
Summer and winter hourly rainfall data of Dire Dawa
weather station (1972–2006) was used to determine the
cumulative rainfall fraction with intensity higher than the
infiltration capacity of the respective soil textural classes.
This fraction was used to partition the summer and winter
rainfall into effective and non-effective with regard to
runoff. The basic infiltration capacity of the soils (mm/h)
was assumed as following: loamy sand (96.7), sandy loam
(50.3), loam (15.5), sandy clay loam (11.3), silty clay
(3.7), and sandy clay (1.4; Saxton and Rawls 2006).
Reference evapotranspiration was estimated from sea-
sonal climatic data (Allen et al. 1998; Federer 1979).
Actual evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration)
is estimated taking into account the soil moisture content;
the detail of which is presented in Batelaan and De Smedt
(2007).
Groundwater recharge was determined as the residual
of the water balance equation (Eq. 1). This resulted in an
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
estimation of spatially distributed recharge as a function of
vegetation, soil texture, slope, groundwater depth, and
precipitation regime. Recharge was determined from the
water balance for bare soil surfaces as:
P ¼ Ss þ Es þ Rs ð4Þ
where the index s refers to bare soil surfaces. The surface
runoff, Ss, was simulated in a similar way to the vegetated
area fraction in two stages—Eqs. (2) and (3). The water
balance for the open water area fraction of a cell is defined
as:
P ¼ So þ Eo þ Ro ð5Þ
where the index o stands for open water surfaces. It is
assumed that the recharge, Ro, derived from the precipi-
tation on the open water fraction, is negligible compared
to the possible recharge from the surface water body itself.
If the Penman open water evaporation, Eo, is smaller than
the precipitation, the remaining water will contribute to
the surface runoff, So (Batelaan and De Smedt 2007). That
is why there is no Ro term in Eq. (7c).
The water balance for impervious surfaces is given as:
P ¼ Si þ Ei þ Ri ð6Þ
where the index i refers to impervious surfaces. The total
water balance, per raster cell and hydrological season is
stated as:
ET c ¼ av ET v þ as Es þ ao Eo þ ai Ei ð7aÞ
Sc ¼ av Sv þ as Ss þ ao So þ ai Si ð7bÞ
Rc ¼ av Rv þ as Rs þ ai Ri ð7cÞ
where the index c refers to raster cell, with ETc, Sc, Rc [L]
respectively, the total evapotranspiration, surface runoff
and recharge in a raster cell and av, as, ao and ai
respectively the vegetated, bare soil, open water and
impervious area fraction of a raster cell. In a vegetated or
cropped area, there is evaporation from the soil in between
the plants and transpiration from vegetation, resulting in
evapotranspiration (ETv) in Eq. (7a). From the portion of
the catchment on which there is no vegetation (i.e.
practically bare land), only evaporation from the bare soil
occurs, Es in Eq. (7a).
The input data
The interaction of climate, geology, morphology, soil
condition, and vegetation determines the recharge process
(de Vriers and Simmers 2002). These input data were
prepared in the form of maps of selected meteorological,
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

hydrological, and geographical elements in the basin. The
climate data for five stations in the Dire Dawa catchment
was obtained from Ethiopian Meteorological Services
Agency. Two of the stations (Dire Dawa and Hurso) are
located in the plain area while the other three (Dengego,
Kersa, and Kulubi) are located on the escarpment (Fig. 1).
Only Dire Dawa provides complete and more than
50 years of climate data. The other stations have only
daily rainfall and temperature data for periods: Dengego
(1981–2006), Dire Dawa (1953–2006), Hurso (1981–
2006), Kulubi (1995–2006), and Kersa (1995–2006).
The WetSpass model was applied to the study area
using grid cells of 30×30 m. The model functions on two
seasonal data sets. For this purpose the year was divided
into two seasons with summer (April to September) and
winter (October to March) with respective input data
(land-use, precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, tem-
perature, wind speed, and groundwater depth). In the Dire
Dawa area, the period from mid-June to September is the
major rainy season. Another, but smaller, rainy period is
March–April, with April having higher amount of precip-
itation. Farmers start cultivation in March. Therefore, it
was assumed that the precipitation in March initiates
vegetation growth while it is only in April that full
vegetation cover is obtained. May is the dry month
between the minor and major rainy periods. However,
the vegetation growth and cultivation started during
March would not be affected by this short dry period.
Therefore, from land-cover point of view, it is appropriate
to take the summer (rainy season in Ethiopian context) as
April to September and winter (dry season in Ethiopian
context) as October to March. The input maps preparation
is presented in the following paragraphs.
1. Precipitation
Rainfall data of five weather stations were used to
develop a rainfall map of the catchment which is quite
well represented by linear equations as shown in Table 1.
The plain area has low rainfall while the escarpment has
higher amount of rainfall. The annual rainfall map is
shown in Fig. 3. The summarized rainfall distribution
obtained from Fig. 3 is presented in Table 2.
2. Potential evapotranspiration
The Penman Monteith method (Allen et al. 1998) was
used to calculate potential evapotranspiration. Evapotrans-
piration data of the five stations were regressed against the
Table 1 Linear regression between elevation and climatic data of the study area
Precipitation (mm) Temperature (°C)
Equation R2 Equation
Winter 0.039Z + 107 0.600 −0.0066Z + 31
Summer 0.231Z + 132 0.821 −0.0087Z + 37
Annual 0.273Z + 238 0.880 −0.0077Z + 34
Z = elevation (masl)
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
1447
respective elevation. As shown in Table 1, the two can be
linearly related. This relation was used to prepare a
potential evapotranspiration map of the catchment
(Fig. 4). The potential evapotranspiration data obtained
from Fig. 4 are given in Table 2.
3. Temperature
Temperature data are available for all the five weather
stations. A linear regression (Table 1) was used to
generate a temperature variation map (Fig. 5) from the
plain area to the escarpment. The summery temperature
data are given in Table 2.
4. Wind speed
Wind speed data are available only for Dire Dawa station.
These data were used uniformly over the catchment: summer
(2.7 m/s), winter (1.5 m/s), and annual (2.1 m/s).
5. Land-use
The land-use and land-cover of DDAC was mapped in
2003 (WWDSE 2004 unpublished). The same was adapted
for the Dire Dawa groundwater basin (Fig. 6). The land-use
in the study area is: cultivated land (41%), physiognomic
vegetation (29%), bare land (26%), and urban and built-up
area (3%). Most of the escarpment area is bare land. This
area is highly degraded due to the steep topography,
deforestation, and intensive rainfall. The highland area
which was covered by sparse forest is now cultivated land.
The plain area is mainly covered by shrubs. In WetSpass, the
land-cover change from summer to winter was taken into
account in the respective parameter tables.
The cultivated land includes: intensively cultivated
land with/without irrigation, moderately cultivated land,
and sparsely cultivated land. Physiognomic vegetation
includes dense shrub land, open shrub land, and eucalyp-
tus plantation. Bare land means exposed rock outcrops
and exposed soil surface with scrubs and grass vegetation.
The major town in the area is Dire Dawa and the other
small town is Melka Jebdu. The escarpment or southern
part of the study area is mainly cultivated land and bare
land while the physiognomic vegetation dominates the
valley plain or southern part of the catchment. Cultivation
is mainly in the highlands where the rainfall amount is
higher with average rainfall of 690 mm while the average
rainfall in the lowland area is 572 mm.
Potential ET (mm) Wind (m/s)
R2 Equation R2
0.924 −0.176Z + 1107 0.936 1.5
0.915 −0.291Z + 1428 0.783 2.7
0.919 −0.467Z + 2535 0.871 2.1
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x
1448

Fig. 3 Average annual precipitation of Dire Dawa catchment

6. Elevation and slope
A 90 m digital elevation model (DEM) of the study
area was developed by mosaicking individual 1° blocks of
three arc second (Fig. 7). Elevation varies from 1,028 to
2,673 masl with an average of 1,503 masl. The slope was
derived from the elevation map using ArcView. The
average slope of the major land-use classes in the study area
is: urban and built-up area (4% slope), bare land (10%
slope), cultivated land (9% slope), and physiognomic
vegetation (7% slope). The urban areas (i.e. Dire Dawa and
Melka Jebdu) are located in the plain area. In general, the
minimum, average, and maximum slopes of the area are 0, 8,
and 39% respectively (Fig. 8).
higher recharge rates than do fine-grained soils (Cook et al.
1992). The textural map of the catchment was adapted from
the map prepared during the Dire Dawa Administrative
Council master plan study (WWDSE 2004 unpublished).
The soil textural class with corresponding area coverage is:
loam (41%), sandy clay loam (28%), sandy loam (19%),
loamy sand (6%), sandy clay (3%), and silty clay (3%)
(Fig. 9).
Almost all of the urban land (94%) is covered with
sandy loam soil. About 73% of the bare land is loam soil.
The cultivated land is covered by 49, 23, and 13% sandy
clay loam, loam, and loamy sand respectively while 41, 35
and 16% of physiognomic land is loam, sandy loam, and
sandy clay loam respectively.

7. Soil 8. Groundwater depth

Soil texture and permeability are important in recharge WetSpass can be run without running MODFLOW,
estimation because coarse-grained soils generally result in thus it is not a must that it should be run in conjunction
with MODFLOW as long as one has a good estimate of
Table 2 Hydrometeorological data of the study area the groundwater depth input for WetSpass modeling
Season Minimum Average Maximum (Batelaan and Woldeamlak 2003). In this study, the
groundwater depth is greater than 20 m and as such its
Precipitation (mm)
Winter 148 167 211 effect on WetSpass simulation is insignificant.
Summer 370 480 750
Annual 519 626 968
Potential evapotranspiration (mm) Results and discussion
Winter 637 842 926
Summer 650 990 1129
Annual 1286 1833 2055 Water balance analysis by land-use classes
Temperature (°C) In order to understand the spatial recharge distribution, it
Winter 13 21 24 is useful to first analyze surface runoff and evapotranspi-
Summer 14 24 28
Annual 13 22 26
ration which occur prior to recharge. Runoff simulated by
WetSpass is presented in Fig. 10. A high spatial variation

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

 1449

Fig. 4 Average annual potential evapotranspiration of Dire Dawa catchment

Fig. 5 Average annual temperature of Dire Dawa catchment

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

1450

Fig. 6 Land-use of Dire Dawa catchment (WWDSE 2004 unpublished)

Fig. 7 Topographic map of Dire Dawa catchment (meters above sea level)

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

 1451

Fig. 8 Slope map of Dire Dawa catchment

Fig. 9 Soil texture of Dire Dawa catchment

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

1452
Fig. 10 Average annual surface runoff from Dire Dawa catchment modeled by WetSpass
in runoff rates was observed, which can be attributed to a
number of factors. Areas close to the southern catchment
divide have higher amount of runoff. This is due to the
high slope and heavy soil texture (sandy clay loam). The
other area with high runoff is the north eastern periphery,
an area with bare land, sand clay soil, and high slope.
Despite sandy loam soil and plain topography, a higher
runoff was also simulated for the town of Dire Dawa. This
is due to the impervious surfaces in the urban area which
prohibit infiltration and promote runoff.
The annual surface water balance of the Dire Dawa
groundwater basin for major land-use units is presented in
Fig. 11. The average simulated annual runoff in the study
catchment is 126 mm which is 20% of annual precipitation.
The highest runoff rate occurs from urban and built-up areas
because of impervious surfaces in this land-use class. The
next highest runoff was from cultivated lands. This is due to
the high slope (9%) and the soil type (49% sandy clay loam)
both of which are major factors to initiate runoff. Plain areas,
more sandy soil covers, and areas with vegetation cover have
low runoff rates.
The simulated actual evapotranspiration is presented in
Fig. 12. The average annual actual evapotranspiration
(ET) from the catchment was 468 mm which is 75% of the
annual precipitation (Fig. 11). The highest actual ET was
from physiognomic vegetation followed by cultivated
land. The least ET was from urban and built-up areas.
The physiognomic vegetations are mainly in the plain
lowland areas where the temperature is high and as a
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
result potential evapotranspiration is high. The urban and
built-up areas are mainly impervious surfaces with lower
evaporation and transpiration.
Evapotranspiration has two components: evaporation
and transpiration. Soil evaporation was highest from bare
lands and lowest from urban and built-up areas (Fig. 13).
Transpiration was highest from physiognomic vegetation
and lowest from urban and built-up areas (Fig. 14). As
shown in Fig. 15, in the urban and bare land areas,
evaporation dominates while in the cultivated land and
physiognomic vegetation areas transpiration dominates.
The WetSpass simulated recharge to the Dire Dawa
groundwater basin is presented in Fig. 16. The average
annual recharge in the Dire Dawa groundwater basin is
28 mm. This is 5% of the average annual precipitation
(626 mm) over the catchment. About 80% (22 mm) of the
recharge occurs on the escarpment with the remaining
20% (6 mm) occurring in the plain area. Considering the
920.12 km2 of the study area, this corresponds to 817 l/s
of recharge. For a sustainable groundwater use the
abstraction from the basin should thus not exceed this
rate. From the water balance of the catchment (Fig. 11), it
can be seen that high recharge occurs from bare land on
the escarpment. This land-use unit has lower runoff and
evapotranspiration compared to the cultivated land.
Batelaan and De Smedt (2001) have also found the
highest simulated recharges on bare soils in the interfluves
of Gote Nete Basin, Belgium. Another good recharge area
is the high lands near Kulubi. This is due to the high
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x
 1453
800
Precipitation Run off Evapotranspiration Recharge
700

Water balance components (mm)

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
Urban Bare Cultivated Physiognomic
Landuse
Fig. 11 WetSpass simulations for runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and recharge for different land-use classes in the study area

precipitation and low evaporation in these areas. The
lowest recharge was found for physiognomic vegetation.
Unlike observations in other studies (e.g. De Smedt
and Batelaan 2003), the urban and built-up areas in this
study have relatively high recharge. This is due to the fact
that, unlike the areas in the former studies, the ratio of
bare lands to impervious lands is high in the Dire Dawa
area. The sandy soil texture and the plain topography of
the town of Dire Dawa favors recharge. For a similar
semiarid region in northern Ethiopia, Asfaw (2005) found
runoff, evapotranspiration, and recharge rates of 16.7,
75.6, and 7.7% of precipitation respectively. Higher
recharge and lower runoff might be because he used the
same parameters, including rainfall intensity, as used for

Fig. 12 Average annual actual evapotranspiration in Dire Dawa catchment

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

1454

Fig. 13 WetSpass simulated average annual soil evaporation from Dire Dawa catchment

Fig. 14 WetSpass simulated average annual transpiration from Dire Dawa catchment

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

 1455
600
Evaporation Transpiration
(3%) (Fig. 8). The valley plain is mainly sandy loam while
the escarpment area is dominated by loam and sandy clay
500
loam. The average slope of areas occupied by different
soil classes is: sandy clay loam (11%), loam (9%), loamy
Evapotranspiration (mm)

400 sand (9%), sandy clay (4%), sandy loam (3%), silty clay
(1%). The loam area in the escarpment is mainly bare land
300 while the sandy clay loam area close to the catchment
divide is cultivated land.
200 The annual water balance of Dire Dawa catchment
summarized by soil textural classes is presented in Fig. 17.
100
The sandy clay loam area receives the highest rainfall
amount (741 mm). The highest runoff is generated from
sandy clay loam area which is located in the high slope
0
Urban Bare Cultivated Physiognomic and high rainfall area. The runoff rate increases as the soil
Landuse gets heavier: loamy sand (36 mm), sandy loam (50 mm),
Fig. 15 Evaporation and transpiration components of actual loam (68 mm), sandy clay loam (237 mm), sandy clay
evapotranspiration components in different land-use units (280 mm), silty clay (253 mm). The evapotranspiration
seems not to show a clear pattern with soil texture as has
the temperate condition in WetSpass. However, in this also been observed by Zhang et al. (2004). It is rather
study, rainfall intensity, a major factor affecting runoff much affected by elevation, with soils in the plain area
rate, was determined from 30 years hourly rainfall data at (high temperature area) having high evapotranspiration.
Dire Dawa.

Earlier attempts to estimate recharge in the Dire

Water balance analysis by soil type
The soil in the study area is grouped into six textural
classes: loamy sand (7%), sandy loam (19%), loam (41%),
sandy clay loam (28%), sandy clay (3%), and silty clay
Dawa groundwater catchment
Some reports are available about earlier efforts made to
estimate groundwater recharge in the Dire Dawa area
(BCEOM-WWDSE-CECE 2005 unpublished; Greitzer
1970; WWDSE 2004 unpublished). According to the

Fig. 16 WetSpass simulated yearly recharge in Dire Dawa catchment

Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457 DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

1456
800
700
Water balance components (mm)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Loamy sand
Fig. 17 Annual precipitation and WetSpass simulated runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and recharge for soil texture classes in the Dire
Dawa catchment
report of the joint work by BCEOM-WWDSE-CECE
(2005 unpublished), a runoff coefficient of 10% was
assumed based on a study conducted in the nearby
Alemaya catchment. Recharge estimated in this way was
24% of precipitation in Kulubi area and 8% in the
Dengego area. It would be obvious that this recharge is
so high because of the low runoff estimate in the water
balance (i.e., low runoff coefficient of 10%). Recommended
runoff coefficients for agricultural/croplands are 40%, for
grass lands/herb lands 25%, and for urban area 70%
(Schwab et al. 1993). Using spring-area relationship for the
260 km2 area between Melka Jebdu and Hurso, a spring
discharge of 363 l/s (i.e., 44 mm or 6% of the mean annual
rainfall of 721 mm) was estimated.
Sir Alexander Gibb and Seureca consulting engineers
(the town of Harar water supply, Hydrogeological study
interim working paper. Ministry of Water Resources,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unpublished, 1996), who estimated
a yield of 110 l/s for a 90 km2 area for Dire Jara and 100 l/s
for the 85 km2 Hurso area, which is adjacent to Dire Jara
area, stated that recharge over 5% of mean annual rainfall is
unlikely. Greitzer (1970) based on the study of recharge in
Harar area estimated 40 to 50 mm recharge on the
sedimentary rocks and 30 mm for the alluvial plains in Dire
Dawa. This recharge is about 6.5–5% of the mean rainfall.
WWDSE (2004 unpublished) estimated recharge for
Dire Dawa and Dire Jara areas by taking different
infiltration coefficients for different rocks based on the
Abbay Basin Master Plan Study Hydrogeology Report by
BCEOM (Abbay River basin integrated development
master plan project, Vol. II, part 3: hydrogeology. Ministry
of Water Resources, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unpublished,
1997) and Darcy’s approach. The assumed infiltration
coefficients were: alluvial deposits (3%), basalts (2%),
upper sandstone (10%), Hamanlei sandstone (10%),
Adigrat sandstone (2%), and basement rocks (2%). In this
Hydrogeology Journal (2009) 17: 1443–1457
Precipitation
Runoff
Evapotranspiration
Recharge
Sandy loam Loam Sandy clay Sandy clay Silty clay
loam
Soil texture
approach, the groundwater recharge in DDAC was
estimated to be 910 l/s. In the steady-state flow approx-
imation or Darcy method, groundwater recharge was
estimated by assuming about 5.5 km width of aquifer in
the NW–NE groundwater flow direction, its gradient in
this flow direction, and the average transmissivity of the
aquifer. The estimated recharge was 1,018 l/s.
Conclusions
A water balance of a semiarid region groundwater system
in Ethiopia was determined using a GIS-based distributed
hydrologic model WetSpass. The goal was to estimate
recharge to the economically and socially important Dire
Dawa aquifer. Use was made of the available field data
and GIS technology to determine the seasonal and annual
runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and recharge. The
simulated recharge map reflected the already perceived
knowledge about the recharge and discharge areas. It was
found that the annual rainfall is apportioned as: 75%
evapotranspiration, 20% runoff, and 5% recharge. Con-
sidering the 920.12 km2 area of the catchment, this
estimated recharge corresponds to 817 l/s. This is less
than the currently assumed recharge of 1,000 l/s. The fact
that the latter is not the true recharge is already evidenced
by declining groundwater levels in boreholes pumped at
equivalent rate in the Sabian well field.
The current knowledge based on the available infor-
mation tells us that the recharge to the Dire Dawa aquifer
is less than what was already thought. The future
groundwater development and management in the area
should take this into account. The result is also useful for
groundwater modeling and vulnerability studies in the
area. However, it should be noted that the current recharge
DOI 10.1007/s10040-009-0455-x

can change depending on the change in land-use and
climate.
Acknowledgements The first author is an Alexander von Humboldt
foundation research fellow at the Technische Universität Bergakademie
Freiberg (Germany). The foundation is, therefore, highly acknowl-
edged. Dire Dawa Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, Ethiopian
Water Works Design and Supervision Enterprise, Harar Water Supply
Project, National Meteorological Services Agency, and Mr. Million
Solomon are acknowledged for the data used in this study. Prof. O.
Batelaan for the provision of WetSpass program.
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