Abstract
Abstract. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and its outflows strongly influence flows in the White Nile, including the availability of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and water supply. Understanding the water balance is a major challenge since the lake is large enough to influence the local climate and its catchment spans several countries. Hydrometeorological monitoring networks are also sparse in some parts of the basin. In this paper, we consider the history of water balance estimates for the lake and how the science has developed as new information and techniques have become available, including in areas such as seasonal flow forecasting and estimating the potential impacts of dam operations and climate change. These findings are placed into a wider context including the challenges arising from a changing climate and evolving ideas from international research programmes, which lead to some suggestions for future research priorities for Lake Victoria and other sub-Saharan/Rift Valley lakes.
Highlights
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the main source of water for the White Nile
Whilst the hydrology of the lake has been surveyed since the early 20th century, the first significant studies were associated with the design of Owen Falls ( Nalubaale) Dam which was commissioned in 1953
One innovative aspect in many studies of Lake Victoria has been the recognition that much can be understood about the lake response by considering the Net Basin Supply (NBS) alone, estimated from lake levels and outflows
Summary
Whilst the hydrology of the lake has been surveyed since the early 20th century, the first significant studies were associated with the design of Owen Falls ( Nalubaale) Dam which was commissioned in 1953 These focused on the long-term water balance of the lake (Sutcliffe and Parks, 1999) but, by the 1970s, several computer simulation studies had been conducted using raingauge averaging methods to estimate lake and catchment rainfall, and conceptual rainfall-runoff models to estimate ungauged inflows. Following a brief literature review, this paper presents insights into how modelling techniques have evolved over the decades and some key lessons learned This includes perspectives gained from new applications in areas such as climate change, seasonal flow forecasting and assessing the impacts of dam operations. Sene et al.: Reflections on almost a century of hydrological studies on Africa’s largest lake
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