American Journal of Water Science and Engineering

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Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi

Received: 10 October 2019    Accepted: 04 November 2019    Published: 08 November 2019
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Abstract

This study investigates groundwater discharge to rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi, using the base flow index (BFI) approach. The BFI represents the baseflow component of a river and is often used as a proxy indicator of groundwater discharge to a river. The smoothed minima method was applied to river flow data from 15 gauges in the Basin (ranging from 1948 to 2012) and the Mann-Kendall (MK) statistical test was used to identify trends in the BFI. The BFI results indicate that groundwater plays an important role in contributing to river flows in the SRB, especially in the dry season. Expressing the BFI as a percentage, these values indicate that annual groundwater discharge to the river’s ranges from 19% in the Rivirivi River to 97% in the Shire River. Seasonally, minimal difference was found between the annual and the wet season BFI. Generally, the dry season BFI was higher than those of the wet season with most rivers increasing to >75%. Groundwater data supported the seasonal fluctuations identified in the BFI data, however, there were no groundwater monitoring boreholes in close proximity to any of the river gauges for in-depth analysis. The results also showed long term trends in the BFI data indicating behavioural changes in the river baseflow and groundwater discharge. In some areas, the declines in BFI indicate that groundwater discharge has been reducing over time due to declines in groundwater levels. This is a concern for the sustainable management of water resources in the Basin. The findings of this study provide important new knowledge on the seasonal and long-term behaviour of groundwater discharge to rivers in the Basin which will be crucial for supporting sustainable water resources management practices. The results will be particularly useful to the new National Water Resources Authority within the Malawian Government, who will oversee catchment management plans.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11
Published in American Journal of Water Science and Engineering (Volume 5, Issue 4, December 2019)
Page(s) 127-137
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

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

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Laura Kelly, Douglas Bertram, Robert Kalin, Cosmo Ngongondo. (2019). Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi. American Journal of Water Science and Engineering, 5(4), 127-137. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11

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    ACS Style

    Laura Kelly; Douglas Bertram; Robert Kalin; Cosmo Ngongondo. Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi. Am. J. Water Sci. Eng. 2019, 5(4), 127-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11

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    AMA Style

    Laura Kelly, Douglas Bertram, Robert Kalin, Cosmo Ngongondo. Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi. Am J Water Sci Eng. 2019;5(4):127-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11,
      author = {Laura Kelly and Douglas Bertram and Robert Kalin and Cosmo Ngongondo},
      title = {Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi},
      journal = {American Journal of Water Science and Engineering},
      volume = {5},
      number = {4},
      pages = {127-137},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajwse.20190504.11},
      abstract = {This study investigates groundwater discharge to rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi, using the base flow index (BFI) approach. The BFI represents the baseflow component of a river and is often used as a proxy indicator of groundwater discharge to a river. The smoothed minima method was applied to river flow data from 15 gauges in the Basin (ranging from 1948 to 2012) and the Mann-Kendall (MK) statistical test was used to identify trends in the BFI. The BFI results indicate that groundwater plays an important role in contributing to river flows in the SRB, especially in the dry season. Expressing the BFI as a percentage, these values indicate that annual groundwater discharge to the river’s ranges from 19% in the Rivirivi River to 97% in the Shire River. Seasonally, minimal difference was found between the annual and the wet season BFI. Generally, the dry season BFI was higher than those of the wet season with most rivers increasing to >75%. Groundwater data supported the seasonal fluctuations identified in the BFI data, however, there were no groundwater monitoring boreholes in close proximity to any of the river gauges for in-depth analysis. The results also showed long term trends in the BFI data indicating behavioural changes in the river baseflow and groundwater discharge. In some areas, the declines in BFI indicate that groundwater discharge has been reducing over time due to declines in groundwater levels. This is a concern for the sustainable management of water resources in the Basin. The findings of this study provide important new knowledge on the seasonal and long-term behaviour of groundwater discharge to rivers in the Basin which will be crucial for supporting sustainable water resources management practices. The results will be particularly useful to the new National Water Resources Authority within the Malawian Government, who will oversee catchment management plans.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Characterization of Groundwater Discharge to Rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi
    AU  - Laura Kelly
    AU  - Douglas Bertram
    AU  - Robert Kalin
    AU  - Cosmo Ngongondo
    Y1  - 2019/11/08
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11
    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  - 127
    EP  - 137
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1875
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20190504.11
    AB  - This study investigates groundwater discharge to rivers in the Shire River Basin, Malawi, using the base flow index (BFI) approach. The BFI represents the baseflow component of a river and is often used as a proxy indicator of groundwater discharge to a river. The smoothed minima method was applied to river flow data from 15 gauges in the Basin (ranging from 1948 to 2012) and the Mann-Kendall (MK) statistical test was used to identify trends in the BFI. The BFI results indicate that groundwater plays an important role in contributing to river flows in the SRB, especially in the dry season. Expressing the BFI as a percentage, these values indicate that annual groundwater discharge to the river’s ranges from 19% in the Rivirivi River to 97% in the Shire River. Seasonally, minimal difference was found between the annual and the wet season BFI. Generally, the dry season BFI was higher than those of the wet season with most rivers increasing to >75%. Groundwater data supported the seasonal fluctuations identified in the BFI data, however, there were no groundwater monitoring boreholes in close proximity to any of the river gauges for in-depth analysis. The results also showed long term trends in the BFI data indicating behavioural changes in the river baseflow and groundwater discharge. In some areas, the declines in BFI indicate that groundwater discharge has been reducing over time due to declines in groundwater levels. This is a concern for the sustainable management of water resources in the Basin. The findings of this study provide important new knowledge on the seasonal and long-term behaviour of groundwater discharge to rivers in the Basin which will be crucial for supporting sustainable water resources management practices. The results will be particularly useful to the new National Water Resources Authority within the Malawian Government, who will oversee catchment management plans.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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