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Estimating groundwater recharge on the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

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Abstract

This paper used three methods namely: water-table fluctuation (WTF), soil moisture balance (SMB), and chloride mass balance (CMB) to estimate groundwater recharge in a degraded Kahe catchment located on the southern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Three methods yielded different groundwater recharge rates. Results of the WTF method showed that recharge in the catchment was about 248.4 million m3/year, whereas those of CMB and SMB methods were 156.0 and 132.1 million m3/year, respectively. The estimated recharge rates ranged between 132.1 and 248.4 million m3/year with an average of 191.34 ± 27.80 million m3/year. Differences in the estimated rates can be attributed to the scales of measurements, assumptions in each method, and the quality of the data used. Satellite images taken in between 2000 and 2017 were used to estimate the land-use changes and their impacts on groundwater recharge in the study catchment. Analyzed satellite images showed that over the 17-year period, natural forests and bushes and shrubs decreased by 3.6 and 4.1%, while agricultural land and built-up area increased by 12.8 and 0.8%, respectively. Using SMB method, we found that these land-use changes have contributed to a decrease in groundwater recharge of about 42% between 2000 and 2017 (i.e., from 227.8 to 132.1 million m3/year). The findings from this study are useful for assessing the potential impacts of land-use change on water resources in the catchment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support offered by the Pangani Basin water office (PBWO) and Moshi district councils during field work for data collection. This research was funded by the Centre for Water Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy Futures (WISE-Futures), one of the East and Southern African Centres of Excellence initiated by the World Bank and hosted by the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Energy Water and Environmental Science (MEWES), Department of Water Environmental Science and Engineering (WESE), The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O.Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania

    Zuberi D. Lwimbo, Hans C. Komakech & Alfred N. N. Muzuka

  2. WISE-Futures: Centre for Water Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy Futures, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O.Box 9124, Arusha, Tanzania

    Zuberi D. Lwimbo & Hans C. Komakech

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Ardhi University, P.O. Box 35176, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Zuberi D. Lwimbo

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  1. Zuberi D. Lwimbo
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Correspondence to Zuberi D. Lwimbo.

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Chloride concentration (mg/L)

ID

Type

Easting

Northing

Elev (m)

March

April

May

June

July

August

Sept

October

Zone 1

 RW01

Rain water

318062

9642909

714

6.04

8.61

8.16

3.59

0

0

5.13

2.31

 RW02

Rain water

313737

9637573

816

2.67

9.23

6.79

11.19

0

0

3.28

5.16

 RW03

Rain water

329764

9634832

811

9.03

5.36

5.52

4.12

0

0

2.18

1.44

 RW04

Rain water

323330

9639181

807

8.35

6.54

5.96

12.13

0

0

17.33

1.75

 GW01

Groundwater

324172

9632898

807

58.48

45.49

17.49

7.52

4.46

7.03

11.56

9.34

 SW01

Surface water

316410

9626956

701

22.72

17.67

46.99

62.99

37.36

58.90

96.8

78.23

ZONE 1 I

 RW05

Rain water

318354

9633294

832

9.28

7.08

5.58

8.12

0

0

11.6

1.9

 RW06

Rain water

323131

9630797

772

8.01

11.5

15.16

6.57

0

0

9.39

3.09

 RW07

Rain water

329511

9626883

719

12.16

13.41

8.28

6.05

0

0

8.65

3.6

 RW08

Rain water

319435

9627938

716

6.08

9.19

17.15

8.14

0

0

11.63

2.47

 RW09

Rain water

316306

9622995

741

11.92

6.21

13.07

18.49

0

0

6.42

1.67

 RW10

Rain water

320590

9627938

727

9.14

13.5

8.23

15.76

0

0

12.52

3.62

 GW02

Groundwater

329395

9625388

732

40.49

31.49

20.99

19.13

11.35

17.89

29.4

23.76

 GW03

Groundwater

327587

9621043

748

32.78

25.49

31.49

13.5

8.01

12.62

20.75

16.77

 GW04

Groundwater

322391

9626359

732

95.78

75.98

65.19

66.77

39.6

62.44

12.6

82.92

 GW05

Groundwater

324856

9623756

730

71.66

40.99

150.92

86.71

51.43

81.08

33.25

17.68

 SW02

Surface

318360

9629833

701

58.67

45.64

19.83

8.59

5.1

8.03

13.2

10.67

 SP01

Spring water

316410

9626956

723

58.67

14.5

16.33

27.15

16.1

25.39

41.72

33.72

 SP02

Spring water

319528

9623079

770

53.34

41.49

51.32

21.99

13.04

20.56

33.79

27.31

ZONE 1 II

 RW11

Rain water

321782

9618413

714

14.78

11.53

13.1

5.91

0

0

8.45

3.09

 RW12

Rain water

324371

9615382

733

7.09

6.29

9.42

9.52

0

0

3.6

1.69

 RW13

Rain water

329400

9614900

732

11.41

14.36

6.92

13.5

0

0

9.29

3.85

 RW14

Rain water

315356

9608629

733

7.67

4.58

13.17

11.89

0

0

6.99

1.23

 RW15

Rain water

324233

9609224

821

11.14

12.99

18.11

14.17

0

0

2.25

3.49

 GW06

Groundwater

314975

9618291

737

46.27

35.99

52.48

22.49

13.34

21.03

34.56

27.93

 GW07

Groundwater

317816

9620277

717

48.84

37.99

45.07

53.98

32.02

50.48

82.95

67.04

 GW08

Groundwater

318303

9616933

712

24.42

68.98

41.99

17.99

10.67

16.82

27.64

22.34

 GW09

Groundwater

321204

9614301

727

46.91

36.49

41.08

59.48

35.28

55.62

91.4

73.87

 GW10

Groundwater

325314

9614559

718

53.34

41.49

20.99

9.31

5.52

8.71

14.31

11.56

 GW11

Groundwater

322205

9618024

716

20.79

16.49

21.08

14.5

8.6

13.56

22.28

18.01

 GW12

Groundwater

326779

9617059

729

66.79

52.98

27.18

46.56

27.62

43.54

71.55

57.82

 GW13

Groundwater

328684

9614848

745

50.41

39.99

94.82

35.14

20.84

32.86

54

43.64

 GW14

Groundwater

325632

9613311

815

69.94

55.48

39.71

48.76

28.92

45.59

74.93

60.55

 GW15

Groundwater

320599

9609939

680

96.41

76.48

49.8

67.21

39.87

62.85

13.28

83.47

 SW03

Surface

311547

9620375

828

21.85

16.99

17.49

7.51

4.45

7.02

11.54

9.33

 SW04

Surface

312437

9605928

730

14.78

11.5

35.24

40.99

24.31

38.33

62.99

50.9

 SP03

Spring water

328043

9619530

729

28.92

22.49

40.82

17.49

10.37

16.35

26.88

21.72

Appendix 2: Digital Elevation Mode (DEM) map of Kahe catchment

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Lwimbo, Z.D., Komakech, H.C. & Muzuka, A.N.N. Estimating groundwater recharge on the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Environ Earth Sci 78, 687 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8690-5

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