American Journal of Water Science and Engineering

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A National Scale Assessment of Temporal Variations in Groundwater Discharge to Rivers: Malawi

Received: 14 December 2019    Accepted: 20 February 2020    Published: 28 February 2020
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Abstract

This study presents the first national-scale assessment of temporal variations in the Base Flow Index (BFI) for watercourses in Malawi. A proxy indicator of groundwater discharge to rivers, the BFI is a measure of the ratio of long term baseflow to total river flow and is a key parameter for sustainable water resources management. The smoothed minima technique was applied to river flow data from 68 river gauges across Malawi (data records ranging from 11-64 years). The long-term average annual BFI for each gauged site was determined, as well as seasonal values of BFI. The Mann Kendal (MK) statistical test was used to identify trends in the BFI. Average annual BFI was 0.57, average wet season BFI was 0.52 and average dry season BFI was 0.97. This indicates that 57%, 52% and 97% of the total river flow is derived from groundwater and other stored sources in the annual, wet and dry season periods respectively. These results show that baseflow in Malawi follows a seasonal pattern with minimal differences between the average annual and average wet season BFI; however, significant increases are generally seen in the dry season BFI. The results also found long-term behavioural changes in BFI across all periods. Annually, 74% showed no trend, 10% showed an increasing trend and 16% showed a decreasing trend. The wet season trends showed similar values with 66% showing no trend, 16% showing an increasing trend and 18% showing a decreasing trend. In contrast, for the dry season, 93% showed no trend, 1% showed an increasing trend and 6% showed a decreasing trend. The dataset determined in this study can support sustainable water resources management in Malawi and contribute to measuring its progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15
Published in American Journal of Water Science and Engineering (Volume 6, Issue 1, March 2020)

This article belongs to the Special Issue 21st Century Water Management

Page(s) 39-49
Creative Commons

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

Baseflow, BFI, Groundwater Discharge, Malawi, SDG6

References
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Author Information
  • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

  • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

  • Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

  • Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Malawi ‘Chancellor College’, Zomba, Malawi

  • Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, Government of Malawi, Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Laura Kelly, Douglas Bertram, Robert Kalin, Cosmo Ngongondo, Hyde Sibande. (2020). A National Scale Assessment of Temporal Variations in Groundwater Discharge to Rivers: Malawi. American Journal of Water Science and Engineering, 6(1), 39-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15

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    ACS Style

    Laura Kelly; Douglas Bertram; Robert Kalin; Cosmo Ngongondo; Hyde Sibande. A National Scale Assessment of Temporal Variations in Groundwater Discharge to Rivers: Malawi. Am. J. Water Sci. Eng. 2020, 6(1), 39-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15

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    AMA Style

    Laura Kelly, Douglas Bertram, Robert Kalin, Cosmo Ngongondo, Hyde Sibande. A National Scale Assessment of Temporal Variations in Groundwater Discharge to Rivers: Malawi. Am J Water Sci Eng. 2020;6(1):39-49. doi: 10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15,
      author = {Laura Kelly and Douglas Bertram and Robert Kalin and Cosmo Ngongondo and Hyde Sibande},
      title = {A National Scale Assessment of Temporal Variations in Groundwater Discharge to Rivers: Malawi},
      journal = {American Journal of Water Science and Engineering},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {39-49},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajwse.20200601.15},
      abstract = {This study presents the first national-scale assessment of temporal variations in the Base Flow Index (BFI) for watercourses in Malawi. A proxy indicator of groundwater discharge to rivers, the BFI is a measure of the ratio of long term baseflow to total river flow and is a key parameter for sustainable water resources management. The smoothed minima technique was applied to river flow data from 68 river gauges across Malawi (data records ranging from 11-64 years). The long-term average annual BFI for each gauged site was determined, as well as seasonal values of BFI. The Mann Kendal (MK) statistical test was used to identify trends in the BFI. Average annual BFI was 0.57, average wet season BFI was 0.52 and average dry season BFI was 0.97. This indicates that 57%, 52% and 97% of the total river flow is derived from groundwater and other stored sources in the annual, wet and dry season periods respectively. These results show that baseflow in Malawi follows a seasonal pattern with minimal differences between the average annual and average wet season BFI; however, significant increases are generally seen in the dry season BFI. The results also found long-term behavioural changes in BFI across all periods. Annually, 74% showed no trend, 10% showed an increasing trend and 16% showed a decreasing trend. The wet season trends showed similar values with 66% showing no trend, 16% showing an increasing trend and 18% showing a decreasing trend. In contrast, for the dry season, 93% showed no trend, 1% showed an increasing trend and 6% showed a decreasing trend. The dataset determined in this study can support sustainable water resources management in Malawi and contribute to measuring its progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - A National Scale Assessment of Temporal Variations in Groundwater Discharge to Rivers: Malawi
    AU  - Laura Kelly
    AU  - Douglas Bertram
    AU  - Robert Kalin
    AU  - Cosmo Ngongondo
    AU  - Hyde Sibande
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    T2  - American Journal of Water Science and Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Water Science and Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Water Science and Engineering
    SP  - 39
    EP  - 49
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1875
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20200601.15
    AB  - This study presents the first national-scale assessment of temporal variations in the Base Flow Index (BFI) for watercourses in Malawi. A proxy indicator of groundwater discharge to rivers, the BFI is a measure of the ratio of long term baseflow to total river flow and is a key parameter for sustainable water resources management. The smoothed minima technique was applied to river flow data from 68 river gauges across Malawi (data records ranging from 11-64 years). The long-term average annual BFI for each gauged site was determined, as well as seasonal values of BFI. The Mann Kendal (MK) statistical test was used to identify trends in the BFI. Average annual BFI was 0.57, average wet season BFI was 0.52 and average dry season BFI was 0.97. This indicates that 57%, 52% and 97% of the total river flow is derived from groundwater and other stored sources in the annual, wet and dry season periods respectively. These results show that baseflow in Malawi follows a seasonal pattern with minimal differences between the average annual and average wet season BFI; however, significant increases are generally seen in the dry season BFI. The results also found long-term behavioural changes in BFI across all periods. Annually, 74% showed no trend, 10% showed an increasing trend and 16% showed a decreasing trend. The wet season trends showed similar values with 66% showing no trend, 16% showing an increasing trend and 18% showing a decreasing trend. In contrast, for the dry season, 93% showed no trend, 1% showed an increasing trend and 6% showed a decreasing trend. The dataset determined in this study can support sustainable water resources management in Malawi and contribute to measuring its progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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