Prefeasibility Study of Some Drought Alleviation Measures in the Niger River Basin
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Prefeasibility study of some drought alleviation measures in the Niger River Basin Item Type Thesis-Reproduction (electronic); text Authors Maiga, Housseini Amadou. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 18:30:55 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/191740 PREFEASIBILITY STUDY OF SOME DROUGHT ALLEVIATION MEASURES IN THE NIGER RIVER BASIN by Housseini Amadou Maiga A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE WITH A MAJOR IN HYDROLOGY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA , 1981 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of re- quirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judg- ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholar- ship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: /9 /9,/ S. INC IV Date Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources To my late dad, Amadou Bazabarmi, my uncle Amadou Aliou and my aunt Zeinabou Hamma. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to express his gratitude to his adviser and thesis director, Dr. Simon Ince, for his continuous guidance, moral support and constructive criticisms during the author's graduate work and research. Special thanks are also due to other members of the graduate committee, Dr. Eugene Simpson and Dr. Judith Dworkin. The financial support from USAID and River Niger Commission (today the Niger Basin Authority) are gratefully acknowledged. Acknowledgments also go to Mr. Maxwell Dayton of the Sahel Development Program (USAID, Washington D.C.) and the staff of the African Section of the Library of Congress for providing most of the necessary documentation. The author is grateful to his host family, Drs. Richard and Mary Jeanne Munroe and children, for helping him and his wife better under- stand and adjust to the American way of life. To Mrs. Munroe, my appre- ciation for proofreading and editing. A special thanks goes to all my parents, friends and colleagues in Mali, and particularly to my mother and my wife for their encouragement and endurance throughout the course of this study. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES viii ABSTRACT ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Subject Definition and Delineation 1 Limitation in Data Collecting and Data Records . 3 Methods of Analysis 4 General Physical Characteristics of the Niver River Basin 5 Description of the Niger Course 5 The Niger River Basin 7 Hydrologic Characteristics of the Niger River . 14 The Upper Niger and Bani 16 The Inland Delta 16 The Middle Niger 17 The Lower Niger 17 The Niger River and Neighboring Aquifers . 18 Severe Droughts and Effects in the Niger River Basin 24 Deficient Precipitation 25 Severe Runoff Characteristics 30 Effects of Drought on Environment and Economy 38 Human suffering and ecological damages 38 Reduction in agricultural production . 39 Explanation of the Drought 39 Summary 40 2. PREFEASIBILITY OF DROUGHTALLEVIATION MEASURES IN THE NIGER RIVER BASIN 42 Measures to Minimize the Impact of the Drought . 43 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Continued Page Forecasts and Warnings 44 Legal and Institutional Aspects of Drought Alleviation in the Niger River Basin 46 Strengthening and Improvement of Present Water Resource Administration 47 Specific Drought Institutional Arrangement 49 Water Supply Oriented Measures 53 Better Use of Available Rainfall 53 Better Use of Existing Unmanaged Runoff 56 Better Use of Large-Scale Irrigation under Full Control of Water 61 Drought Mitigation Capability of Existing Surface Reservoirs 65 Development of New Supply of Water 67 Land Use Control 68 Small Development Projects 71 River Regulation - Some Preliminary Aspects of the Baoul IV Dam and Reservoir 80 Geographical presentation 80 Socio-economic aspects 98 Adverse effects of regulating dams on the Upper Niger 99 Intrabasin Transfer of Water 103 Conjunctive Water Use 103 Financial and Legal Aspects of the Basin Development 104 Summary 109 3. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 111 Summary 111 Conclusions and Recommendations 112 REFERENCES 121 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. The River Niger 6 2. Niger River Basin 8 3. Atmospheric circulation and annual precipitation over West Africa 10 4. Average monthly distribution of rainfall in the Niger River Basin 12 5. Hydrographs of the Niger River at Baro 19 6. Schematic representation of the annual discharge of the Niger River system 20 7. Relief and geology of the Niger River Basin 21 8. Deficit of annual rainfall in the northern part of the Niger River Basin 26 9. Monthly distribution of rainfall in the Niger River Basin in 1973 29 10. Evolution of annual deficit of runoff in the Niger River Basin during the 1968-74 drought 32 11. Hydrographs of the Niger River at Koulikoro during critical years 33 12. Hydrographs of the Niger River at Niamey during critical years 35 13. Variation of annual runoff during 3 periods of droughts 36 14. Experimental frequency (F) plot of annual peak floods, average runoff and annual minimum flows of the Niger River and Senegal River 37 vi vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS -- Continued Figure Page 15. Pain and cross-section views of the controlled submersion irrigation 58 16. The Office du Niger irrigation scheme 63 17. Existing and possible regulating dams on the Niger and its tributaries 78 18. Drainage area of the Baoulé at Dioila 81 19. Correlation Koulikoro-Douna (average annual discharges) 84 20. Correlation Douna-Dioila (average annual discharges) . 86 21. Average monthly discharge of the Baoulé at Dioila . 87 22. Monthly discharge of the Baoulé at Dioila (1953-1972) . 91 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Average monthly precipitation and average monthly potential evapotranspiration 11 2. Climatological classifications 15 3. Hydraulic properties of the neighboring aquifers of the Niger River (Mali) 23 4. Rainfall deficiency in 1973 in Mali 28 5. Evolution of annual runoff (deficit or excess to the mean) in the Niger River Basin during the 1968-1974 drought 31 6. Range of agricultural drought adjustment in East Africa 54 7. Price of wells, borehole, pumps and engines 74 8. Monthly discharges of the Baoulé at Dioila (m3/s) . 83 9. Characteristics of gaging stations 85 10. Correlation of mean annual discharge (mis) between Dioila and Douna 87 11. Average precipitation using Thyssen method 90 12. Mean monthly discharge coefficient of the Baoule at Dioila 92 13. Intensive irrigated farming systems water requirements (m3/hectare) 94 14. Alternative water demands for the Baoule IV reservoir (x 10 9 m3 ) 96 15. Characteristics of the planned dams on the Middle Niger 105 vi i i ABSTRACT The Niger River Basin is situated in a geographic area with a climate which imposes a long dry season each year and is particularly harsh on the vegetation cover due to greatly reduced moisture avail- ability. Furthermore, the study area is struck by recurrent droughts having devastating effects. In addition to causing human suffering and animal death, the droughts have drastic impact on the hydrology of the river and the fragile environment, playing havoc with the underdeveloped economy of the basin countries. To alleviate these adverse effects, the present study attempts to examine, from a water resource manager's point of view, the experi- ences as well as the potential feasibility of some proposed drought- control measures. Control measures of emergency relief, water conserva- tion and water supply are studied, including their legal, institutional, socio-economic and financial aspects in the Niger Basin. These measures integrated in a contingency plan should also be part of a long-term development strategy to enable the basin countries to better withstand the effects of future droughts by providing self- sufficiency in food production, rehabilitation of the environment, and economic development. ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Subject Definition and Delineation The drought of 1968-1974 that struck Intertropical Africa had most of its consequences in the Niger River Basin. The Niger River is the largest river in West Africa. With a length of 4,200 km, it drains 2 a vast basin (more than 2 million km ) between latitude 4oN and latitude 20°N on one hand, longitude 12°West and 15 ° East on the other. The Niger and/or its tributaries flow into ten countries: Algeria, Benin (formerly Dahomey), Cameroon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Upper Volta. The present study attempts to examine the preliminary feasibility of some measures, mainly surface water oriented, to alleviate the impact of drought on the environment, the uses of the water and the institu- tional and legal aspects in the Malian part of the basin. Because of availability of data and other pieces of information, the study will be directed mainly to the Republic of Mali and some neighboring countries. Drought control measures intended to minimize the impact of droughts (forecast and warning, emergency relief), water demand reduc- tion measures (legal aspect, production adjustment, water conservation) and water supply measures (development of new supply, conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water) will be studied.