Water Resource Potential Evaluation of Berga River Catchment, West Shewa Zone, Oromiya Regional State

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Date

2006-06

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Addis Ababa Universty

Abstract

Berga river catchment is located in west part of Addis Abeba with SW to NE stretch of 8057'58" N to 9018'35" N latitude and 38020'49" E to 38029'33" E longitude. It is a sub-catchment of Awash basin, found at water divide of Awash and Abbay drainage basins. It has a total area of 303km2. The study area is characterized by irregular undulated physiographic features. The main rocks in the catchment are basalt, ignimbrite, trachytes/rhyolites and alluvial deposits. From long term mean monthly meteorological data, the catchment has 1119.26mm, 898.68mm, and 664.25mm annual rain fall, potential evapotranspiration and actual evapotranspiration respectively. The estimated annual relative humidity, wind speed at 2m above the ground, sunshine hour, and temperature range are 64.4%, 1.64m/s, 6.5hr/day, and 14.05―16.73Oc respectively. 92.73 million Cubic meter water leaves the catchment annually in the form of river flow (runoff). The main aquifer in the catchment is weathered and fractured basalt. From borehole log, and field observation of hand dug wells and springs, in low land parts of Berga river catchment 3—15m depth is potential for hand dug well(except at Kimoye site) and shallow groundwater. This area is also potential for borehole with maximum depth of 150m. At present, the most available water source in the catchment is springs and streams. Ignimbrite, rhyolite/trachyte are aquifers with moderate to low ground water potential zone. 82.71mm water is used to recharge groundwater reservoir annually. Ground water is generally a localized flow system controlled by topography and geology. Water in the catchment is mainly of Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Ca-Na- HCO3 type. Almost all water in the study area are hard to very hard and TDS is generally below 480mg/l. the sum of Ca2+ and Mg2+ is grater than the sum of Na+ and K+ in all water sources. All water in the catchment is fresh which is suitable for almost all purposes. Almost all parameters are with in the limits of acceptable values of WHO and Ethiopian water quality standard/guide line except some hand dug wells showing bacterial pollution.

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Keywords

Berga River Catchment, Berga River Catchment

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