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Date of Award
2017
Document Type
Campus Access Master's Report
Degree Name
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (MS)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor 1
Veronica Webster
Committee Member 1
David Watkins
Committee Member 2
Greg Rybarczyk
Abstract
Various methods and models for water resource management have been developed, but ultimately the numerous, diverse variables which are unique to a watershed will determine how the available water can be utilized. The Kuiseb River is contained within one of 12 ephemeral rivers in Namibia. The Kuiseb River begins in the headwaters of the Central Platea, flows down the Great Escarpment and cuts across the Namib Desert on its westward course to the Atlantic Ocean. The variety of users who rely on water from the Kuiseb River make it one of the most diversely used ephemeral rivers. Since colonial times, the increasing demand on the Kuiseb River groundwater aquifers have resulted in drastic lowering of the water table. Due to very low annual rainfall in most of the Kuiseb Basin, groundwater recharge is dependent on the seasonal rains in the headwaters, but these rains are sporadic and variable, resulting in alternating drought and flood cycles. The Kuiseb Basin Management Committee, which is comprised of 10 members representing all the stakeholder in the Kuiseb Basin, is working to improve water resource management across the whole basin to ensure equitable water access for all. To assist with the planning of future water use, an examination of gauge flow data along the Kuiseb River is performed in order to determine recharge potential from flood events.
Recommended Citation
Gallagher, Laura C., "EVALUATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE EPHEMERAL KUISEB RIVER BASIN IN NAMIBIA: IMPACTS OF WATER USE BEHAVIORS, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND IRREGULAR AQUIFER RECHARGE IN A RAPIDLY DEVELOPING COUNTRY", Campus Access Master's Report, Michigan Technological University, 2017.