Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science

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Overview to Potential Sources, Soil Salinization and Expansion Level of Lake Basaka, Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia

Received: 13 May 2020    Accepted: 12 June 2020    Published: 08 September 2020
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Abstract

The aim of this overview is extended to indicate the Potential Sources, Soil salinization and expansion level of lake Basaka. Lake Basaka is located in the middle Awash River Basin, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia at about 200 km south East of the capital city, Addis Ababa. The lake is expanding as opposed to the other rift valley lakes in Ethiopia, which are shrinking, Lake Basaka is found to be expanding at an alarming rate. This overview indicates the expansion area/level/ of the lake is challenging the socio-economics and environment of the region significantly. With this point of view the lake’s expansion is due to the agricultural sugarcane farm land use type near Beseka Lake and mostly due to the increased ground water flux to the lake. The potential sources or ground water flux to the lake could be an increase of ground water recharge following the establishment of irrigation schemes in the region, subsurface inflow from far away due to rift system influence, and Lake Neotectonism. The significant expansion of Lake Basaka during the past 35 years started after the introduction of Matahara sugar state. The expansion is affecting both the ground water dynamics and soil salinization of the nearby sugarcane Plantation and, if it continuous, the sustainability of the plantation itself is under great risk. The future expansion of the highly saline lake may be aggravated towards the east and Northeast direction due to the topography of the area. This has the potential to displace Matahara town and impact the sugar Plantation during the next two-three decades years. Assuming the past trends, the lake isexpected to join Awash River, thereby impacting all downstream irrigation developments in the Awash basin, and affecting the livelihood of the people depending on the water resources of this basin. Generally, the lake’s has poor water quality and its expansion rate damaging effect to the region, and mitigation measures are very important for sustainable lake management.

DOI 10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11
Published in Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 9, Issue 4, August 2020)
Page(s) 71-76
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Lake Basaka, Potential Source, Expansion Area, Soil Salinization, Ground Water Flux

References
[1] Belay, A. E. Growing Lake with Growing Problems: Integrated Hydrogeological Investigation non LakeBeseka, Ethiopia. Ph. D. Thesis, Universitäat Bonn, Bonn, Germany, 2009.
[2] Dinka, M. O. Analyzing the Extents of Basaka Lake Expansion and Soil and Water Quality Status of Matahara Irrigation Scheme, Awash Basin (Ethiopia). Ph. D. Thesis, BOKU University, Vienna, Austria, May 2010.
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[4] Dinka, M. O.; Loiskandl, W.; Ndambuki, J. M. Hydrochemical modelling for Lake Basaka: Development and application of a conceptual water budget model. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2014, 186, 5365–5379.
[5] Dinka, M. O. Lake Basaka Expansion: Challenges for the Sustainability of the Matahara Irrigation Scheme, Awash River Basin (Ethiopia). Irrig. Drain. 2017.
[6] Gulilat Abebe (2000) Feasibility study on the proposed remedial measures of the Lake Beseka level rise. MSc Thesis submitted to the Graduate School of Alemaya University, Ethiopia.
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[8] Warrence, Nikos, J., Pearson, Krista, E., Bauder, James, W. (2003) The Basics of Salinity and Sodicity Effects on Soil Physical Properties.
[9] Hanson, B., S. R. Grattan and A. Fulton (1999) “Agricultural Salinity and Drainage.” University of California Irrigation Program. University of California, Davis. http://glovis.usgs.gov.
[10] Kahlown, M. A., Ashraf, M., Haq, Z. (2005) Effect of shallow groundwater table on crop water requirements and crop yields. Agricultural Water Management. 76, 24–35.
[11] Klemperer, S. L.; Cash, M. D. Temporal geochemical variation in Ethiopian Lakes Shala, Arenguade, Awasa, and Beseka: Possible environmental impacts from underwater and borehole detonations. J. Afr. Earth Sci. 2007, 48, 174–198.
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[14] Dinka, M. O. Delineate the Hydrochemical Composition and Origin of Various Surface Water and Groundwater Resources in Matahara Area (Ethiopia). Inland Waters 2017, in print.
[15] Winter, T. C.; Harvey, J. W.; Franke, O. L.; Alley, W. M. Groundwater and Surface Water a Single Resource; US. Geological Survey Circular 1139; DIANE Publishing Inc.: Denver, CO, USA, 1998; p. 87.
[16] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Groundwater Resources of the World: Transboundary Aquifer Systems 1: 50,000,000 Scale; UNESCO: Paris, France, 2006.
[17] Kebede, S.; Travi, Y.; Asrat, A.; Alemayehu, T.; Ayenew, T.; Tessema, Z. Groundwater origin & flow along selected transects in Ethiopian rift volcanic aquifers. J. Hydrol. 2008, 6, 55–73.
[18] Tessema, Z. Hydrochemical and Water Balance Approach in the Study of High Water Level Rise of Lake Beseka. Master’s Thesis, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, 1998.
[19] WWDCE (Water Works and Construction Enterprise). Study of Lake Beseka (Main Report 1); MoWR: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1999; p. 203.
[20] Mohr, P. A. The Geology of Ethiopia; University College of Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1971.
[21] Mohr, P. A. Major volcano–tectonic lineament in the Ethiopian rift system. Nature 1967, 213, 664–665.
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[24] Dilsebo, H. Evaluating the Infield Water Application Performance of Furrow Irrigation System at Matahara Sugar Estate; Research Report submitted to Research and Training Services of the Ethiopian Sugar Industry Support Center; Ethiopian Sugar Industry Support Center: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2004.
[25] Bojanowski, A. Africa’s New Ocean—A Continent Splits Apart. Online Report on the Website. Available online: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/africa-s-new-ocean-a-continent-splitsapart-a-405947.html (accessed on 20 July 2010).
[26] Olumana, Loiskandl & Fürst. Effect of Lake Basaka expansion on the sustainability of Matahara SE in the Awash river basin, Ethiopia. Water, sanitation and hygiene: sustainable development and multi sectoral approaches. 34th WEDC International Conference, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2009.
Author Information
  • Department of Food Science and Nutrition Research, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Kulumsa Agricultural Research Center, Assela, Ethiopia

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    Melaku Tafese Awulachew. (2020). Overview to Potential Sources, Soil Salinization and Expansion Level of Lake Basaka, Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 9(4), 71-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11

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    ACS Style

    Melaku Tafese Awulachew. Overview to Potential Sources, Soil Salinization and Expansion Level of Lake Basaka, Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2020, 9(4), 71-76. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11

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    AMA Style

    Melaku Tafese Awulachew. Overview to Potential Sources, Soil Salinization and Expansion Level of Lake Basaka, Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2020;9(4):71-76. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11,
      author = {Melaku Tafese Awulachew},
      title = {Overview to Potential Sources, Soil Salinization and Expansion Level of Lake Basaka, Central Rift Valley Region of Ethiopia},
      journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {71-76},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20200904.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20200904.11},
      abstract = {The aim of this overview is extended to indicate the Potential Sources, Soil salinization and expansion level of lake Basaka. Lake Basaka is located in the middle Awash River Basin, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia at about 200 km south East of the capital city, Addis Ababa. The lake is expanding as opposed to the other rift valley lakes in Ethiopia, which are shrinking, Lake Basaka is found to be expanding at an alarming rate. This overview indicates the expansion area/level/ of the lake is challenging the socio-economics and environment of the region significantly. With this point of view the lake’s expansion is due to the agricultural sugarcane farm land use type near Beseka Lake and mostly due to the increased ground water flux to the lake. The potential sources or ground water flux to the lake could be an increase of ground water recharge following the establishment of irrigation schemes in the region, subsurface inflow from far away due to rift system influence, and Lake Neotectonism. The significant expansion of Lake Basaka during the past 35 years started after the introduction of Matahara sugar state. The expansion is affecting both the ground water dynamics and soil salinization of the nearby sugarcane Plantation and, if it continuous, the sustainability of the plantation itself is under great risk. The future expansion of the highly saline lake may be aggravated towards the east and Northeast direction due to the topography of the area. This has the potential to displace Matahara town and impact the sugar Plantation during the next two-three decades years. Assuming the past trends, the lake isexpected to join Awash River, thereby impacting all downstream irrigation developments in the Awash basin, and affecting the livelihood of the people depending on the water resources of this basin. Generally, the lake’s has poor water quality and its expansion rate damaging effect to the region, and mitigation measures are very important for sustainable lake management.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AB  - The aim of this overview is extended to indicate the Potential Sources, Soil salinization and expansion level of lake Basaka. Lake Basaka is located in the middle Awash River Basin, Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia at about 200 km south East of the capital city, Addis Ababa. The lake is expanding as opposed to the other rift valley lakes in Ethiopia, which are shrinking, Lake Basaka is found to be expanding at an alarming rate. This overview indicates the expansion area/level/ of the lake is challenging the socio-economics and environment of the region significantly. With this point of view the lake’s expansion is due to the agricultural sugarcane farm land use type near Beseka Lake and mostly due to the increased ground water flux to the lake. The potential sources or ground water flux to the lake could be an increase of ground water recharge following the establishment of irrigation schemes in the region, subsurface inflow from far away due to rift system influence, and Lake Neotectonism. The significant expansion of Lake Basaka during the past 35 years started after the introduction of Matahara sugar state. The expansion is affecting both the ground water dynamics and soil salinization of the nearby sugarcane Plantation and, if it continuous, the sustainability of the plantation itself is under great risk. The future expansion of the highly saline lake may be aggravated towards the east and Northeast direction due to the topography of the area. This has the potential to displace Matahara town and impact the sugar Plantation during the next two-three decades years. Assuming the past trends, the lake isexpected to join Awash River, thereby impacting all downstream irrigation developments in the Awash basin, and affecting the livelihood of the people depending on the water resources of this basin. Generally, the lake’s has poor water quality and its expansion rate damaging effect to the region, and mitigation measures are very important for sustainable lake management.
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