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Recharge mechanism and hydrogeological functioning of mountainous springs in East African highland-lowland systems

IWRA World Water Congress 2025 Marrakech Morocco
Groundwater Challenges and Oppotunities
Author(s): Michel Frem - IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, TU Delft

Michel Frem
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, TU Delft

Co-authors: Tibor Stigter, Abdul Nafi Khan, Bobsammy Mwende, Dahiana Cardozo, Abdalmajeed Ibrahim, Elie Gerges, Gretchen Gettel, Paulo Paron, Boris van Breukelen, Graham Jewitt

2 December 2025

Oral: PDF

Abstract

Introduction

▪ East African montane forests are commonly known as water towers (Hohenthal et al., 2015).

▪ Increasing competition over freshwater resources. ▪ Unpredictability of temperature and rainfall patterns in The Horn of Africa (UNICEF, 2022).

▪ Gap in understanding the interplays between climate variabilities, alterations in land use, and their impacts on groundwater hydrology


Objectives

Characterize the hydrogeological setting and develop a conceptual understanding of highland-lowland hydrological dynamics, including surface water-groundwater interactions.