Groundwater abstraction management in Sana’a Basin, Yemen: a local community approach

Taher, Taha M.

Groundwater abstraction management in Sana’a Basin, Yemen: a local community approach | Gestion de l’exploitation des eaux souterraines dans le Bassin de Sana’a, Yemen: approche d’une collectivité locale Gestión de extracción de agua subterránea en la cuenca del Sana’a, Yemen: un enfoque de la comunidad local 也门萨那盆地地下水开采管理:一个当地社区的方法 Gerenciamento da abstração das águas subterrâneas na Bacia Sana’a, Iémen: uma abordagem da comunidade local

2016

Taher, Taha M.

Overexploitation of groundwater resources in Sana’a Basin, Yemen, is causing severe water shortages associated water quality degradation. Groundwater abstraction is five times higher than natural recharge and the water-level decline is about 4–8 m/year. About 90 % of the groundwater resource is used for agricultural activities. The situation is further aggravated by the absence of a proper water-management approach for the Basin. Water scarcity in the Wadi As-Ssirr catchment, the study area, is the most severe and this area has the highest well density (average 6.8 wells/km²) compared with other wadi catchments. A local scheme of groundwater abstraction redistribution is proposed, involving the retirement of a substantial number of wells. The scheme encourages participation of the local community via collective actions to reduce the groundwater overexploitation, and ultimately leads to a locally acceptable, manageable groundwater abstraction pattern. The proposed method suggests using 587 wells rather than 1,359, thus reducing the well density to 2.9 wells/km². Three scenarios are suggested, involving different reductions to the well yields and/or the number of pumping hours for both dry and wet seasons. The third scenario is selected as a first trial for the communities to action; the resulting predicted reduction, by 2,371,999 m³, is about 6 % of the estimated annual demand. Initially, the groundwater abstraction volume should not be changed significantly until there are protective measures in place, such as improved irrigation efficiency, with the aim of increasing the income of farmers and reducing water use.

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