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Assessment of climate variability impact on water supply sustainability in rural areas of northern Ethiopia

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Abstract

Climate variability can affect sustainability of water resources in rural areas. The impact of climate variability is greater for areas having low annual rainfall and complex topography. The objective of this study was to investigate spatial and temporal variability of climate and its impact on sustainability of rural water supplies in northern Ethiopia. Station-based climate data of six meteorological stations were gathered from Ethiopian Meteorology Institute (EMI) with varied recorded periods. Rainfall trend analysis was conducted using the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator. Rate of water yield for hand-dug wells and springs was measured using pumping and recovery tests. Results of this study showed that no significant trends were detected for annual and seasonal rainfall of all stations, except the summer rainfall of Dengolat station. Average monthly minimum and maximum temperatures in the last 3 decades have been increasing by 0.68 and 0.34 °C, respectively. Yield test results of wells and springs of the study area varied from 0.01 to 1.34 L per second (l/s). Yield test results for wells and springs showed that only 19% of the water supply schemes satisfy the daily domestic consumption of 25 L/capita/day. The study implied that water yield of the water supply schemes is impacted by temporal and spatial climate variability. Water yield of wells and springs was positively correlated with annual rainfall, but negatively correlated with slope gradient of the study area. Water yield of the water supply schemes located nearby to check dams, reservoirs, ponds, and perennial rivers was relatively better compared to others schemes.

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Data availability

The recorded daily rainfall and temperature data of the currently existing meteorological stations were obtained from Ethiopian National Meteorological Agency. Water supply schemes data and construction history were obtained from Tigray Bureau of Water Resources.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Ethiopian Meteorological Agency for providing daily rainfall and temperature data for the study area and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) (MU-NMBU institutional collaboration with grant number: CRPO/EiT-M/MU-HU-NMBU/MSc/007/09) for financial support. The authors extend their appreciation to the generosity and hospitality of the peoples of Enderta and Hintalo Wejerat for their unconditional support during the field work.

Funding

This research was funded by Mekelle University-Norwegian University of Life Sciences (MU-NMBU) (Project Registration Number: Ref. No: CRPO/EiT-M/MU-HU-NMBU/MSc/007/09).

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  1. School of Civil Engineering, Mekelle University, P. O. Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia

    Muruts Getachew, Bizuneh Asfaw Abebe & Berhane Grum

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  1. Muruts Getachew
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Contributions

Muruts Getachew contributed to the conceptualization, data collection, data analysis, and preparing of the original draft manuscript. Bizuneh Asfaw Abebe contributed to formulating the objectives, methods, project administration, supervision, review, and editing. Berhane Grum contributed to the conceptualization, formulating of the overall project, supervision, and structuring of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Bizuneh Asfaw Abebe.

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Getachew, M., Abebe, B.A. & Grum, B. Assessment of climate variability impact on water supply sustainability in rural areas of northern Ethiopia. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 9, 187 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-023-00976-2

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