Water Projects in Ethiopia and their Implications for the Future of the Nile Water

Abstract

Ethiopia is well known as the “East Africa water tower.” Water flows from it in all directions, north and west to the Nile River (Sudan and Egypt), And south to Lake Turkana (Kenya), Shabelle and Juba (Somalia). To the east, Lake Assal (Djibouti), Mountainous nature, and complex terrain dominate Ethiopia. Rainwater and its run-off mountain slopes and hills are the source of surface water for most Ethiopian lands. This paper discusses Ethiopia’s water situation, as the primary source country, which contributes about 85% of the Nile’s water, and discusses Ethiopia’s possibility to establish great dams. And the most important geological reasons behind the failure of many water projects in Ethiopia, whether on a large or small scale. Including the temporal and spatial diversity of rainfall, the high evaporation rate (87%), the different terrain, the severity of the slopes, the spread of weak basaltic volcanic rocks and fractured limestone, and a large number of faults and faults as a result of the seismic activity associated with the African trench, as well as the increase of the Ethiopian plateau. Alluvial sedimentation that negatively affects the storage capacity of dams.It also aims to assess the impact of existing or under-construction water projects on the water share of Egypt and Sudan and to identify future water projects in Ethiopia by analyzing previous data, reports, and scientific research, and finally finding ways to get out of the current crisis between countries The source on one side and the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) on the other side.