OVERVIEW OF USGS WATER RESOURCES ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES IN AFGHANISTAN

An overwhelming majority of the Afghan population lacks access to adequate, safe supplies of water. This problem is acute in major population centers and in rural agricultural areas using irrigation. The problem has become so pronounced that it is affecting international efforts to stabilize and rebuild the country and is widely viewed to impact economic growth and governance. In order to improve these conditions, a basic monitoring infrastructure and a water management strategy are needed to assess, understand, and improve the management of the water resources of Afghanistan. The objective of the USGS water resources efforts in Afghanistan supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department are to: (1) Assess and understand the basic hydrology of Afghanistan (issues related to the relationship between ground and surface water, ground-water sustainability, contamination of drinking water supplies, flood prediction and prevention, and others); (2) Begin a water-quality monitoring program to identify and protect safe sources of drinking water; (3) Estimate the amount of safe water available for use in key population centers such as Kabul and to identify and document new and sustainable sources of clean water; and, (4) Perform capacity building.

The projects include: (1) Creation of an inventory of ground-water resources in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan and an analysis of the overall water resources availability in the basin, (2) Establishing an inventory of historic streamflow data; (3) Characterizing the 1991 flood in the Helmand basin; (4) Providing periodic estimates of total accumulated snow water equivalent for the Helmand river drainage area upstream of the Kajakai reservoir; (5) Recreating and estimating the hydrology of the Helmand basin for the periods of missing record from about 1979 to present; (6) Analyzing preliminary data and information on snow cover, ice and glaciers and their role in water resources of Afghanistan; (7) Reporting on the geology and geomorphology of the Helmand basin; (8) Taking initial steps at the creation of an integrated national water resource database. Some activities have included large capacity building components and most have been done in close collaboration and coordination with several Afghan Ministries, other International Organizations and Donors, and local NGOs.