Beiträge zur Angewandten Geologie - Festband Jean F. Schneider.

Schriftenreihe des
Departments für Bautechnik und Naturgefahren Nr. 11 - Nov. 2006. Fiebig, M. (Ed.) (2006)

Hydrogeology and Water Utilization in Ethiopia

Loiskandl, Willibald1

1. Introduction
The link between water management and geology is outlined in this paper. Examples from
Ethiopia display the connection between irrigation development and hydrogeology. Water
plays a major role in human development (without water no life) and hence any behaviour that
provides an effective use of water or improves the quality of existing water sources contributes
to human survival. Access to water, poverty and people's livelihoods are interlinked. At the
same time, water is becoming a scarce resource in many countries, particularly in Sub-
Saharan Africa. This is also reflected in the Millennium goals of the UNITED NATIONS (2005)
especially in Goal 7: ensure environmental sustainability. The utilization of water is related to
availability and quality. Both aspects are influenced by geological conditions. The storage and
permeability of aquifers is important for availability of water. Weathering and other geological
processes, like volcanism, influence the quality of water.

Soil and soil fertility are of high importance to human life as well. However this is not
acknowledged adequately and hence not protected properly. Soil has a history and to
understand the development of soils geology information is necessary. Soil is a product of the
parent material and layer differentiation. The following definition underlines this.

“Soil: The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth
that serves as a natural medium for the growth of plants. The unconsolidated mineral or
organic material on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of
genetic and environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature effects), and
macro- and micro organisms, conditioned by relief, acting on parent material over a period of
time. A product-soil differs from the material from which it derived in many physical, chemical,
biological, and morphological properties and characteristics” (SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF
AMERICA, 1997).

1
ao. Prof. DI. Dr. Willibald Loiskandl
BOKU – University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna
Department of Water - Atmosphere - Environment, Inst. for Hydraulics and Rural Water Management
A-1190 Vienna, Muthgasse 18, willibald.loiskandl@boku.ac.at

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Geology helps to understand and separate natural from man made conditions of agricultural
land. To understand this a description of the parent material is required. This process is called
soil genesis “The mode of origin of the soil with special reference to the processes or soil
forming factors responsible for the development of solum, or true soil, from unconsolidated
parent material” and provides the link between geology and soil formation.

The involved factors may be grouped into five categories: parent material, climate, organisms,
topography and time. To achieve a better and sustainable use of water an interdisciplinary
approach is beneficial. Geology accounts for the parent material and hence for the starting
point of soil genesis. Hydrogeology is bound to groundwater and soil physics and provides the
link between the atmosphere and the groundwater table (Figure 1).
Both disciplines together with meteorology and hydrology are forming a solid foundation for
water management. In relation to the named disciplines main research fields are pointed out:
a) Hazards and water availability as key issues in geology and hydrogeology,
b) Water and solute movement in the vadose zone as a main concern of soil physics.
These research fields support water management and may lead to recommendations of best
practise for farming and irrigation activities in a way that future generations still can benefit
from present investments.

Water Best management

management practise

Hydrology Socio/economic frame

Geology Soil physics Hazards

Hydrogeology Groundwater

Figure 1: Interdisciplinary approach for water utilization, disciplines and related research fields.

Experience in the past shows that it is important to connect the geoscientific research with the
socio/economic context. Many examples show that scientific interventions which did not
include all stakeholders could not reach their goals. Water utilization and irrigation
development have to take care of a holistic approach (LOISKANDL et al., 2004).

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Beiträge zur Angewandten Geologie - Festband Jean F. Schneider. Schriftenreihe des
Departments für Bautechnik und Naturgefahren Nr. 11 - Nov. 2006. Fiebig, M. (Ed.) (2006)

2. Research questions related to water utilization in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia about 80-85 % of the people are employed in agriculture, especially in farming. The
sector contributes about 40 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product. The poor
performance of agriculture is reflected in the annual food deficit. The sector has been beset by
natural disasters, in particular prolonged dry spells and periodic severe droughts. But the
substantial natural potential of the country, the fertile soils, adequate rainfall in many parts of
the country and high irrigation potential have not been realized effectively. Ethiopia has an
excellent potential to improve the existing situation through irrigated agriculture as it has ample
water and land resources.

An increasing and developing population demands more water and food. A sustainable water
management needs reliable information of surface water and groundwater potential. To avoid
over exploitation and reach sustainable water supply information on aquifers is indispensable.
For example TADESSE (2003) quantified the potential of groundwater for the Weri river basin
(Tigray). By mapping groundwater resources and compiling hydrological data valuable
information for decision makers is provided. One conclusion of the work was that there is not a
lack of water but of management. Hence there is an urgent need for a regional water
management plan based on hydro/ hydro-geological information. Land use is another
important issue for water utilization with respect to quantity and quality. HABTEMARIAM
(2003) used land sat-7 images to characterize land use pattern. This proofed to be very
efficient in areas where little of the data are available.

At present in most cases water utilization for irrigation relies on surface water, whereas water
wells are used for domestic purpose only. But this can also lead to overexploitation. Figure 2
shows the present situation at former Lake Alamaya, which is now used for grazing. A
pumping station is located in the former “lake area”. In addition to this official pumping station
farmers dig holes to get access to water. Rates of groundwater recharge and water
exploitation are not matching. An improved water management is obviously necessary.

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Figure 2: Former lake area near Alamaya University Campus.

In the dry north of Ethiopia water logging problems for example in the Raya valley are present.
The Raya valley is a sub basin at the western edge of the Danakil basin. It is surrounded by
volcanic hills. The basin fill is mainly composed of unconsolidated material ranging from gravel
to clay. Trees indicate wet spots (Figure 3, left). The soil is highly affected by cattle in terms of
soil compaction. Water appears in footprints ot the cattle (Figure 3, right).

Figure 3: Water logging in Raya valley (March 2005). Explanation of the fotos see text.

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Beiträge zur Angewandten Geologie - Festband Jean F. Schneider. Schriftenreihe des
Departments für Bautechnik und Naturgefahren Nr. 11 - Nov. 2006. Fiebig, M. (Ed.) (2006)

Another problem is salinity. The reason is often the geological situation, worsened by
anthropogenic activities. For example, AGUMASSIE (2002) reports in his study in the Awash
river valley for the locations Melka Sedi plains and Abadir farm salinisation problems. For the
first the salinity problem is considered as irrigation induced because of a rising water table due
to unbalance of irrigation and natural drainage capability. Furthermore local silty loam which
has a high potential of capillary rise and hence for capillary salinisation increases the problem.
At the second site salinity problems are caused by intrusion of high salinity water from Lake
Beseka. This serves as a good example for a combination of natural anthropogenic effects.
Excessive drainage water is considered as the causes of the rising water table in the lake.
AGUMASSIE (2002) pointed out that salinisation is a nation wide problem. He recommends
identifying salinity and water logging areas in nation wide surveys.

All presented observations have the importance of an appropriate management of the

irrigation schemes in common. Due to an improved water management abandoned land could
be reclaimed. Water management practises can mitigate the negative impacts of salinity
effects and support the optimisation of land use. Emphasise has to be put on a stabilisation of
soil fertility.

To build on indigenous knowledge and to account for the social structures and traditions is
important. For example, the local population in Tigray was not happy with an official
programme to clean fields from stones to enable an easier tillage. Later it was proofed that by
taking away the stones more moisture was lost due to evaporation. The challenge is to
combine traditional and modern knowledge and technology for the benefit of local farmers.

Projects related to water utilization have been done by many research teams of different
disciplines and nationalities, e.g. installation of water wells in rural areas using a low cost
drilling technique, termed the ‘rotation sludge method’ or ‘Rota sludge’. The Rota sludge was
developed in India and later successfully introduced in Nicaragua, Ghana and Tanzania. Its
aim is to drill low cost water wells which are affordable for a wider group of people compared
to the traditional drilling methods. In order to assess if the Rota sludge drilling method could be
used for water well installation in Ethiopia, a project was established between Practical
foundation and the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (VAN DER WAL, 2004).

The involvement of staff members of the University Natural Recourses and Applied Life
Sciences, Vienna, is presented in the next chapters concerning assessment of irrigation
development and networking.

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3. Contribution to irrigation development in Ethiopia
In Africa the agricultural economy is often divided for a commercial sector with high-input and
high-output technology and a small holder farming sector which uses low-input-low-output
technology. Problems of small holder farming are:

• poor sustainability of smallholder schemes,

• low productivity,
• poor market access.

The small holder farming sector has a high potential for improvements, but unfortunately in
many cases a high management risk. This has to be considered very carefully in any project.
Nevertheless, this sector needs to be developed to improve the living conditions for the
majority of the rural population. Following the work of Philippe Lemérière the agricultural
sector in Ethiopia is divided in four parts, which can be summarized as following (WERFRING,
2004):

• Traditional irrigation schemes that have been practiced for centuries in using perennial or
seasonal streams. These schemes usually were developed by the farmers themselves
without any government involvement.

• Modern communal irrigation to implement by regional governments. Rivers and run-off

water, lakes, springs and groundwater are used. Generally modern communal irrigation
schemes are more sophisticated than traditional ones.

• Modern private irrigation schemes started in the 1950s initiated by Dutch companies,
which implemented sugar estates. With the adoption of a market based economy the
private schemes re-emerged in the 1990s. Water is mainly from rivers or lakes by pumps
or diversions, although some small farms use water harvesting techniques.

• State farms operated by private state owned enterprises, such as the Upper Awash Agro
Industry Enterprise. The first large public irrigation scheme was constructed at the Wonji
Sugar Plantation in the Upper Awash Valley as a corporation between the Ethiopian
Government and a Dutch enterprise. Water is abstracted from rivers or lakes by pumps or
diversions. Most of the public irrigation schemes can be found in the Awash River Valley.

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Beiträge zur Angewandten Geologie - Festband Jean F. Schneider. Schriftenreihe des
Departments für Bautechnik und Naturgefahren Nr. 11 - Nov. 2006. Fiebig, M. (Ed.) (2006)

Most important is to join forces and to compile available information. The river basin
development master plan studies of the MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES (2001) is a
good start in Ethiopia. Co-operation of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, and Ethiopian partners
the impact of irrigation is analysed (LOISKANDL et al., 2004).

The goal is to develop guidelines for decision makers and farmers. To quantify the significant
positive and negative impacts of irrigation development in Ethiopia the following specific
objectives were defined (SELESHI, 2004):

(1) to generate information that can be used to improve the performance of irrigated
agriculture and enhance its positive benefits while minimizing its negative externalities,
(2) to guide future irrigation investments and fill the gap in knowledge about the total impact
of irrigation development on economy, society and environment,
(3) to address specific health and poverty alleviation issues,
(4) to develop methodological guidelines for assessing the impact of irrigation investment,
(5) to strengthen Ethiopian capacity for interdisciplinary research and political
implementation.

The study is based on an assessment of the impact of irrigation. The fundamental premise is
the understanding of the impacts of past investments in irrigation. This will significantly
contribute to the planning of new investments and the design of interventions for enhancing
agricultural production. Improving the livelihoods of poor people in existing irrigated areas is
possible. The findings of the investigated case studies are of relevance to improve planning
and managing irrigation and water resources projects in Ethiopia and other countries with
similar climatic conditions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Figure 4 provides an overview of investigated field sites, concentrated in areas with high
agricultural activities. Water logging even happens in the dry north of Ethiopia. There a rain
fed water distribution system causes water logging by increasing the peak supply during rainy
season (Top of figure 4). In the lower left of Figure 4, farmers at Godino are working on an
emergency drainage, to release excess of water supply. Lower right of Figure 4 shows a part
of the main canal of Wonji-Shoa sugar estate near the town of Nazareth. The irrigation
schema has good structures and is obviously well managed. Nevertheless, there are
problematic issues like water quality, water logging and the effects of a rising water table.

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Figure 4: Agricultural landscapes in northern and central Ethiopia (Explanation of the fotos see text).

The assessment of irrigation practises (AIP) has to trigger actions. A prerequisite is the
collaborative work with partners, based on their individual roles and mandates. This is
supported by the project “Dissemination of research results in semi-arid and arid ecosystems
with a focus on sustainable water resource management in Ethiopia" (short name
WATERMAN). This Specific Support Action (SSA) focuses on analysis and dissemination of
research results in sustainable, integrated water resource management at river-basin scale in

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Beiträge zur Angewandten Geologie - Festband Jean F. Schneider. Schriftenreihe des
Departments für Bautechnik und Naturgefahren Nr. 11 - Nov. 2006. Fiebig, M. (Ed.) (2006)

Ethiopia. The SSA takes advantage from the existing collaborations linking together partners
from different regions in Ethiopia. An inter-Ethiopian-networking is supported. The locations of
Ethiopian partners represent three out of nine ethnic regions with different climatic conditions,
ethnic groups and languages (Table 1).

Table 1: Partner locations in Ethiopia.

Region in Ethiopia Partner location

Tigray Mekelle

Oromia Alemaya, Addis Ababa

Southern Nations, Nationalities, Awassa

and Peoples Region

In the IWMI network for the cooperation on irrigation assessment in Ethiopia two more regions,
Afar and Amhara are included. In terms of river basins this comprises Blue Nile, Awash, Rift
Valley, Tekeze and the Harrarghe Highlands.

The aims are to extent the outreach of findings in Ethiopia, to invite other partners from East
Africa (namely Kenya and Uganda) to participate. A project award competition and a special
price for gender issues are introduced to motivate especially young researchers to contribute
innovative ideas.

4. Collaboration in research and education

Education is a key issue for the success of development cooperation. In a country like Austria
research for Sub-Saharan areas is entirely depending on good cooperation with local partners.
To be able to disseminate the research results the involvement of stakeholders is required
(Figure 5). The most effective way, of dissemination is through collaboration with end-users
right from the project start or by SSA as discussed above.

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 Figure 5: University cooperation layout: the outer circle represents partners in Ethiopia. Besides the
links to the universities of Alamaya, Mekelle and Debub, relations to the IWMI, the Austrian
Academic Exchange Service (OAD) and Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) have been
established. “Menschen fuer Menschen” is one of the most effective NGO´s in Ethiopia.

NGO’s are a guarantor that the local population is included to ensure a participatory approach.
All partners bring in their different expertise to contribute to the development of irrigation and
water management. Through IWMI’s international activities results are more widely visible and
synergies may be used in other regions with similar climatic conditions, e.g. Sub Saharan
West Africa where IWMI also has a regional office.

Cooperation enhances the work of real life projects and contributes to applicable solutions for
the life constrains in partner countries. Available technology and engineering approaches have
to be critically reviewed according to the applicability and regional needs.

5. Conclusions
Ethiopia has an excellent potential to improve livelihood through irrigated agriculture as it has
ample water and land resources. This goal can be reached by joining forces and close co-
operations. AIP claims not to be a new method, but tries to take advantage and adapt existing
practises for irrigation projects. Many investigations have been performed already, but there is
still need for further research in groundwater resource evaluation, geological background
information, irrigation and water management practises.

Ethiopia is suffering from various problems concerning sustainable water management. One of
the major issues concerns the application of hydrological research e.g. surface and

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Departments für Bautechnik und Naturgefahren Nr. 11 - Nov. 2006. Fiebig, M. (Ed.) (2006)

groundwater resources development and management, surface water harvesting and its effect
on groundwater recharge with implication to the conjunctive use of water resource.

The role of universities is to connect research and education, to share and support partners in
the southern hemisphere. To improve livelihood and food security education is of great
importance. Education at a university level must include the dissemination of research results
to all stakeholders and socioeconomic settings.

Acknowledgements
The paper presents Prof. Schneider's and my research in Ethiopia. Originally we started
separately, but later a strong connection evolved, mainly through supervising PhD projects.
University education is per definition bound to research. This is very much supported by
Professor Jean Schneider. He has supervised many students from Ethiopia and he is also
“god father” for a new study programme in Geology at Mekelle University, Tigray.

I am grateful to Prof. Schneider and my Ethiopian colleagues and friends, namely Dr. Tena
Alamirew, Dr. Nata Tafesse, and Dr. Dessie Nedaw. With Jean I had many interesting PhD
projects and the others helped me to get an understanding of Ethiopia.

References
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