Cheikh Faye

By Cheikh Faye

With climate change and the return of wet years over the last few years, West African rivers have begun to record excess flows and rising levels. These new changes have resulted in a slight increase in water resources. The objective of this study is therefore to assess the climate change impacts on water resources in the Gambia River. The methodology is based on the calculation of normalized indices (rainfall and flow) and the application of the Maillet model. The results show that just as rainfall increased on both sides of 1994 at the Kédougou (16.1%) and Tambacounda (13.3%) stations, flows in the Gambia basin rose which can sometimes exceed 50% at certain stations (34.7% in Simenti and so on). In addition, the depletion coefficients, on both sides of 1994, vary between 0.051 and 0.044 at the Mako station (a decrease of −15.1%) and between 0.057 and 0.045 at Simenti (a decrease of −21.3%). These coefficients highlight an increase in the duration of drying up and an increase in the volumes of water mobilized by the aquifers that go from 3035 to 6531 m3 in Mako (an increase of 115%) and from 3017 to 4581 m3 in Simenti (an increase of 17%).

Part of the book: Hydrology

By Cheikh Faye

The United Nations classifies Senegal as a water-poor country (less than 1000 m3 per capita of freshwater reserves) and about 20% of its population did not have access to a drinking water supply (estimates of 2015). Economic growth and the fight against poverty in Senegal depend essentially on the availability of water for the development of agricultural and industrial activities, in addition to satisfying domestic uses. As a developing country, Senegal’s human, monetary and institutional capacities are often limited to providing clean and sufficient water efficiently to its citizens. This article examines the management of water scarcity in the city of Dakar (capital of Senegal) in a context of increasing demography and urbanization. However, Senegal has sufficient water resources to meet the demand if the available resources are properly managed. As a result, several initiatives are under way in Senegal to mitigate water problems and protect the country’s water resources: reducing pollution, improving access to drinking water and setting up rational and equitable exploitation with a constant concern for sustainable development.

Part of the book: Resources of Water

By Cheikh Faye

The water resources of the Sahelian countries bordering the Senegal River basin (Senegal, Mali and Mauritania) are limited and unevenly distributed. To overcome the unequal distribution of water resources and to manage floods and droughts in the Senegal River Basin, hydraulic infrastructures have been built in the Senegal River Basin, starting with the Manantali dam. The paper reviews the current water storage capacity in the Senegalese, Malian and Mauritanian parts of the Senegal River Basin from a sustainable water resources management perspective. Data from the Manantali dam and from the water resources of the downstream countries (Mali, Senegal and Mauritania) in the Senegal River basin were employed to assess water storage capacity at country level in this basin. Water storage capacity was found to be lowest in the Mauritanian part and highest in the Malian part. These results led to the conclusion that despite the OMVS based heavy investment in the infrastructure of water storage capacity there is both need and potential for infrastructure increase. As the Senegal River Basin is a transboundary case the riparian countries sharing in order to promote integrated water resources management at the basin level, need to continue to develop additional storage to underpin and modernize the responsible use of water resources through the construction of other multifunctional water infrastructure.

Part of the book: River Basin Management