Water Balance of Blue Nile River Basin in Ethiopia
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 120, Issue 3
Abstract
The Blue Nile River in Ethiopia has a drainage area of approximately 324,530 km2 and supplies nearly 84% of the water to the Nile River during high‐flow season, making it the main source of water for Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt. Relatively few analyses have been conducted on the Blue Nile River basin largely due to the lack of hydrologic data. The objective of this paper is to present existing stream‐flow data for the Blue Nile River and its tributaries within the Blue Nile River basin in Ethiopia and to use that data to provide insight into the river's hydrology in Ethiopia. A monthly water‐balance model was developed for this purpose. Comparisons of the predicted and observed monthly hydrographs are provided for selected subwatersheds within the Blue Nile basin. Spatial distribution of the calibrated coefficients is also discussed. Results will be useful in forecasting flows along the Blue Nile and Nile Rivers and in determining the effect of global climatic changes on continental hydrology.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 120 • Issue 3 • May 1994
Pages: 573 - 590
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 28, 1992
Published online: May 1, 1994
Published in print: May 1994
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