July 22, 2025 Report Open Access

Mekonen Gedewon

Citation Style Language JSON Export

{
  "DOI": "10.20372/nadre:11619", 
  "author": [
    {
      "family": "Mekonen Gedewon"
    }
  ], 
  "issued": {
    "date-parts": [
      [
        2025, 
        7, 
        22
      ]
    ]
  }, 
  "abstract": "<p>The development of a balanced plan for water resource utilization necessitates a comprehensive<br>\nassessment of water resources in terms of quality, quantity, spatial distribution, and the land use and<br>\nland cover conditions of the entire catchment. The Mekaneselam and its surrounding area, located in<br>\nthe northern part of Ethiopia within the South Wollo Zone, are bordered by the Blue Nile Gorge to the<br>\nsouth and the Yeshum River Gorge to the east. This region exhibits two distinct topographic features:<br>\nthe highlands, covering approximately 80% of the area and dominated by the Ashengie Formation,<br>\nand the lowlands, comprising Quaternary volcanics. The catchment&rsquo;s annual rainfall, determined<br>\nthrough arithmetic averaging of point data from nearby stations, is approximately 1268 mm/year.<br>\nUsing a conventional recharge estimation method, the annual recharge rate of the catchment is<br>\ncalculated to be 230.4 mm/year. The primary aquifers in the area consist of scoria and vesicular<br>\nbasalt. Groundwater recharge, discharge conditions, and flow systems are predominantly influenced<br>\nby rainfall, topographic features, and structural geology. The groundwater potential of the area is<br>\ncategorized into High, moderate, low, and very low, with the general groundwater flow direction from<br>\nnortheast to southwest, albeit with minor irregularities due to local topographic variations, deep<br>\nwells, and structural influences. Hydrogeochemical analysis using Aquachem software identified four<br>\nwater types, including Ca-HCO3, Na-Ca-HCO3, Ca-Mg-HCO3, and Ca-Mg-HCO3-Cl. The dominant<br>\nwater type in the region is Ca-Mg-HCO3. Groundwater in the area evolves from Ca-HCO3 and CaMg-HCO3 types in recharge zones to Na-Ca-HCO3 types in discharge zones. This evolutionary trend<br>\nis governed by processes such as dissolution, precipitation, cation exchange, and hydrolysis of silicate<br>\nminerals. This study provides insights into groundwater recharge-discharge dynamics, flow systems,<br>\nand hydrogeochemical evolution to support sustainable water resource planning and emphasizes the<br>\nimportance of implementing land use practices, monitoring water quality variations, and constructing<br>\nstorage facilities to enhance resource utilization in Mekaneselam and similar catchments.</p>", 
  "title": "Groundwater Quality and Potential Assessment in Mekane Selam and its Surrounding Area, South Wollo, Ethiopia", 
  "note": "Funded by Mekdela Amba University", 
  "type": "article", 
  "id": "11619"
}