Estimation of Current Water Use over the Complex Topography of the Nile Basin Headwaters: The Case of Ghba Subbasin, Ethiopia

Quantifying the available and useable water is critical work in any water resource study and design project. However, it is challenging to provide a robust and accurate estimation of water use and distribution for better water resource management and planning. This study aims to estimate the water use by different sectors, including water supply and irrigation sectors, by adopting estimated demand and supply water quantity. The current total population of the subbasin has been estimated to be 1.21 million. Thus, in the subbasin, current water use is estimated as follows: domestic and nondomestic water use in the rural area is 3.5 Mm³/year and 0.174 Mm³/year, respectively. The domestic water use of the towns is 12.77 Mm³/year. The industrial water use of the urban areas is 21.2 Mm³/year, whereas the commercial, public, and institutional water use are 1.87 Mm³/year. The real loss for all the water supply uses is 7.8 Mm³/year. Thus, the total current water supply uses are about 47.225 Mm³/year. From the existing irrigation schemes, about 10,254.8 ha areas are irrigated by both smallholders and different investors, growing vegetables, cereals, and fruit trees. The annual irrigation water requirements of these schemes are computed to be 151.55 Mm³. Livestock water demand of the subbasin was assessed and estimated based on the population and consumption rates of the species. Currently, the subbasin has a total livestock population of 1,527,835, and the water demand of which is estimated at 5.3 Mm³ per annum. Hence, the total current water use estimate of the subbasin is 204.1 Mm³.

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