T260 Groundwater Sustainability in Times of Climate and Human Uncertainties (Posters)

Wednesday, 25 September 2024
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Hall D

DREAM PILOT PROJECT: ANALYSIS OF GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT AT SIX RURAL VILLAGES IN ETHIOPIA

Paper number: T260-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

Six rural villages in western and southwestern Ethiopia, Andega, Chefe Kora, Dalle, Huluku, Murch, and Telifa, have been selected by the Distributed Renewable Energy Agricultural Modalities (DREAM) initiative to develop groundwater for irrigation by installing ~100 wells that incorporate solar mini-grids to supply electricity for the pumps. The DREAM initiative was launched in 2022 to address energy and water challenges in rural Ethiopian agricultural villages.

Four of the villages are situated in the main Ethiopian rift (MER), with geology characterized by volcanic rocks and Quaternary sediments. Andega and Telifa villages are located on the Ethiopian Plateau to the north, which is composed of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, as well as Quaternary sediments. The climate of Ethiopia has dramatic dry and monsoonal seasons, creating unique annual periods of water scarcity.

One initial test well was drilled in each village. Based on the test well results, nineteen more permanent production wells have been drilled near two of the villages; fourteen near Murche and five near Dalle. These wells are expected to operate for eight hours per day. The depths of the new Murche wells range from 76 to 100 meters. The new Dalle wells range from 150 to 154 m deep. Discharges for the Murche wells range from 3 to 20 L/sec, and from 7 to 27 L/sec for the Dalle wells. Both constant-discharge and step-drawdown pumping tests have been conducted on the new wells, with transmissivities ranging from 10 to 100 m2/day for the Murche wells, and from 5 to 80 m2/day for the Dalle wells.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-402159

© Copyright 2024 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.