In the Central Rift Valley in Ethiopia, the water level in lake Ziway and in the downstream saline Lake Abijata has declined over the past years. This has been due to increased water extraction for irrigation from Lake Ziway and expansion of agriculture in the entire Ziway-Shalla Basin, causing a lowering of discharge of the Burbula River that feeds Lake Abijata. Sufficient flushing of Lake Ziway with fresh water from the Meki and Ketar Rivers is required to avoid salinization of Lake Ziway and Lake Abijata in the future.
In a project funded by the Sustainable Water Fund Programme, World Waternet, Wetlands International and Acacia Water are providing capacity building to assist the Rift Valley Lakes Basin Development Office with monitoring of the water flows and water quality in the basin. Last week training was provided by our colleague Dr. Maarten Waterloo and World Waternet on river discharge measurement using different discharge measurement methods.
For more information contact our colleague Stefan de Wildt.
