Abstract
Within the Blue Nile River basin rainfall varies significantly with altitude and is considerably greater in the Ethiopian highlands than on the plains of Sudan. The river is the principal tributary of the main Nile River providing 62% of the flow reaching Aswan in Egypt. Flow and sediment variation are large, with unimodal peaks. Significant water development therefore requires considerable investment in water control and management to offset variability. This chapter provides an overview of the basin characteristics, hydrology and hydrological variability of the Blue Nile, as well as a brief evaluation of the current and future status of water resource development and implications for water availability.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Blue Nile is a sub-basin of the main Nile. The sub basin is called Abbay in Ethiopia and Blue Nile in the Sudan. Generally, Blue Nile basin is widely understood to represent the Abbay-Blue Nile upstream of its confluence with the White Nile.
References
Ahmed AA (2006) Multipurpose development of the eastern Nile, one system inventory, ENTRO report, Sudan
Beltrando G, Camberline P (1993) Interannual variability of rainfall in the eastern horn of Africa and indicators of atmospheric circulations. Int J Climatol 13:533–546
BCEOM (1998) Abbay River basin integrated development master plan project. Report to Ministry of Water Resources, The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Block P (2007) Integrated management of the Blue Nile basin in Ethiopia: hydropower and irrigation modeling. IFPRI discussion paper 07000. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC
Conway D (2000) The climate and hydrology of the Upper Blue Nile River. Geogr J 166(1):49–62
Endale YD (2006) Assessment of Water Demand for irrigation development in Abay Basin (A case of tributary development scenario). In: The Nile Development Forum (2006) proceeding. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Haile T (1988) Causes and characters of drought in Ethiopia. Ethiop J Agric Sci 10:1–2, 85–97
Hydrosult, Tecsult, DHV, Nile Consult, Comatex Nilotica and T & A Consulting (2006) Cooperative regional assessment (CRA) for watershed management. Transboundary analysis Abay-Blue Nile sub-basin. Report to Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office, Nile Basin Initiative
JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) (1977) Feasibility report on power development at Lake Tana Region, Ethiopia
Johnson PA, Curtis PD (1994) Water balance of Blue Nile River basin in Ethiopia. J Irrigat Drain Eng ASCE 120(3):573–590
Nicholson S, Kim J (1997) The relationship of the ENSO to African rainfall. Int J Climatol 17:117–135
Norconsult (2006) Karodobi Multipurpose project, pre-feasibility study. Report to Ministry of Water Resources, The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Norplan, Norconsult and Lahmeyer International (2006) Karadobi multipurpose project pre-feasibility study. Project report to the Ministry of Water Resources, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Seleshi Y, Demarée GR (1995) Rainfall variability in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands and its links with the southern Oscillation Index. J Biogeogr 22:945–952
Shanko D, Camberlin P (1998) The effects of the southwest Indian Ocean tropical cyclones on Ethiopian drought. Int J Climatol 18:1373–1388
Sutcliffe JV, Parks YP (1999) The hydrology of the Nile. IAHS Special Publication 5. IAHS, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Tesfahun D (2007) Catchment water balance for Blue Nile River basin. MSc thesis, Arba Minch University
USBR (1964) Land and water resource of the Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Appendix V – power
WAPCOS (1990) Preliminary water resource development master plan for Ethiopia, vol III, annex – a hydrology and hydrogeology, vol V annex J – hydropower
Waterbury J (2002) The Nile basin: national determinants of collective action. Yale University
World Bank (2000) Sudan – options for the sustainable development of the Gezira scheme. World Bank sector report 20398, Washington DC
World Bank (2006) Ethiopia: managing water resources to maximize sustainable growth. World Bank Agriculture and Rural Development Department, Washington DC
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Awulachew, S.B., Wubet, F.D., McCartney, M., Shiferaw, Y.S. (2011). Hydrological Water Availability, Trends and Allocation in the Blue Nile Basin. In: Melesse, A.M. (eds) Nile River Basin. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0689-7_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0689-7_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-0688-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-0689-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)